Nettles usually grow along roadsides and near trees, bushes, and buildings. In private properties, rampant nettles are often considered an unwanted weed and eradicated. Therefore, nettles typically grow where people do not care for them. Nettles growing in a garden are considered a sign of neglect.
Nettle is a herbaceous perennial that grows 1 to 2 m tall in summer and falls to the ground in winter. It has very distinct yellow roots that spread widely. The soft green leaves are 3 to 15 cm long, have a strongly serrated edge, a heart-shaped base and a laminate tip. Both the leaves and stems are covered with brittle, hollow, silky hairs that were once thought to contain formic acid to protect against grazing animals. Recent research has found that the cause of the sting is three chemicals – a histamine that irritates the skin, acetylcholine that causes a burning sensation, and serotonin that promotes the other two chemicals.
Bare skin brushing against a stinging nettle plant tends to break the sensitive defensive hairs and release the trio of chemicals. Which usually results in a temporary and painful rash similar to poison ivy, although the rash and duration of the stinging nettle are much weaker. It is possible to avoid the sting by touching the center of the leaf or stroking in the same direction as the hair.
Non-punitive use
The plant can be prepared as a vegetable, either raw (like lettuce) or cooked (like spinach). In these preparations, the leaves are treated so that their sting is gone. The fibers of the plant have been used for thousands of years to make fabrics that resemble flax. Nettle also has numerous medicinal and traditional medical uses. In some countries, nettle is traditionally used to whip the skin to treat the pain of arthritis and rheumatism. The soothing effect is probably due to the slight irritation of the skin, which leads to a feeling of warmth. Even the Spartan children had rubbed themselves with thistles to feel warmer at night.
Penal use
Nettles are used by C. of Sweden. In places where nettles are abundant, such as Northern Europe, every child quickly learns to fear and avoid this plant. When a child is fighting or fooling around, he or she can sometimes chase or hurl another child into nettles – a potentially traumatic experience that can amplify a fear into a phobia. The concept of being intentionally punished with nettles is therefore extremely frightening.
Nettles in BDSM play and fiction.
Nettles sting with thin, delicate hollow hairs on the stems and leaves. The hairs are like tiny pale bristles and are so thin that they bend or collapse when stung. They break open when touched (each hair stings only once), but nothing is felt unless that touch actually drove them into the skin. Sideways pressure bends them over and breaks them, and usually wastes the sting.
The recipient is typically restrained and naked (or at least the part of the body to be flogged is exposed). Reactions vary, but most spankees show a strong burning irritation that is also visible as redness, and a series of small lumps, like small mosquito bites, are common. The effect is very similar to the warm feeling that comes right after the sharp pain of a whiplash subsides. While a whiplash fades comparatively quickly, the glow can last for hours. There is also a seasonal difference. The first young shoots to emerge in spring are very hot, sometimes shocking. The tall summer plants have fewer and milder stinging hairs. They may not be visible at all on calloused or wrinkled skin, such as around a nipple. Regular use of nettles on many spankee seems to result in partial immunity. One possible health risk associated with nettle play is an allergic reaction.