Look how tall and straight the stems are, and how evenly and
regularly the dark green pointed leaves grow from it. They grow in
pairs, on opposite sides of the stem, and are serrated. There is
something rather unusual about the stem of the Nettle which we will
notice at once. I have brought out a pair of thick leather gloves, so
that we can pick a stem without being stung.
You know what shape the trunks of trees are. Round? Yes; round or nearly
so. So are the stems of most plants; the stems of the Red Valerian are
round. The stem of the Nettle, however, is square, or if not perfectly
square, it has four distinct sides. Perhaps you had never noticed this
before, for the Nettle is certainly not a plant with which one cares to
have very much to do.
Both the stems and leaves are covered with tiny hairs. These hairs are
really small hollow tubes ending in a sharp point. When the Nettle
stings you it first pricks the skin with these sharp points, and then a
drop of poison falls from the tube into the wound the point has made.
If you happen to get stung by a nettle do _not_ bathe your hand with
cold water; that will only make the pain worse.
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