A Natural History of Nettles

ABOUT THE BOOK. Articles on nettles have been published in newspapers, magazines and books through the ages & they often make the headlines. However, this is the first book ever published on them! There have been over a 100 major scientific papers written on the main nettle character of the book, the sub-cosmopolitan common stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) and at present it appears in some form or other I 80-100 journals per year. The main object of the book is to bring this information to the general public in a readable and profusely illustrated form. The book contains 142 photos/coloured line drawings, of these 52 full page composite illustrated pages made up of approximately 650 line figs and 550 photos (the vast majority are mine). The cost of colour printing is high so unfortunately the text contains only black and white versions but all illustrations are included in colour at high resolution (300 d.p.i.) on CD-ROM (PC only) on the inside back pocket of the book. The technical parts are written in a semi-scientific manner, so the general public, naturalists, botanists, students and scientists will find a lot to interest them. Few have ventured to look at the nettle in close-up for fear of being stung! The beauty of its minute structure is revealed. The small nettle and the extinct roman nettle have interesting stories. The latter was grown in Elizabethan flower gardens as a fun nosegay! Three chapters are devoted to the stinging hair, its structure (one of the first objects looked at by the early microscopists, Hooke and Leeuwenhoek), its mechanism of discharge (the marvelous micro-pipette with its hypodermic needle) and its defense against cattle (vertebrate herbivores). Learn about the toxins and the stinging hair & their symptoms; the tropical tormentors, the nettle trees of the Indo-Malayan area. The utility of the common nettle, as a food and famine fodder, fibre use and ersatz material in peace and war (WWI & WWII) is a fascinating story few know. The ecology of the nettle patch shows that this plant is of great importance to insects (particularly our vanessid butterflies), larger animals fungi and other parasites. Learn about the growth requirements of this successful competitor plant, its sex life (two sexes similar to humans), breeding strategy & evolution. Literary people have not neglected the nettle and it has much folklore because of its relationship with man throughout history. Read about nettles from other plant families with attractive flower, that have come up with a stinging hair almost identical to our common nettle: unique exploding stamens, nettle-eating competitions, genetic engineering, as a medical panacea, capons, & much more!!!16