Following a talk to the Lichfield Wildlife Group on 29 September 2014 the following two bits of apparently anomalous information were received:

‘Was told by grandmother that picking nettles [Urtica dioica] would make you wet the bed!  1950s, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.’

‘Nettles – picking them makes you wet the bed (as a child in S. Wales).’

Although P-LA contains almost 200 items of information relating to nettles this belief has not been recorded before.  Any comments would be appreciated; please send them to vickery330@btinternet.com

Comment from a man attending a walk on Mitcham Common, Surrey, July 2024:  ‘I’ve heard that they [nettles] are slightly diuretic’.

Image:  Crystal Palace Park, London Borough of Bromley; October 2014.

Additional information added 10 July 2024.