Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We're working to fix a technical issue causing problems with our broadcasts. We'll have it resolved as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Nettle II

In the National Museum of Denmark, there's a 2,800 year old piece of Bronze Age cloth made from nettle fiber. Nettle fabric has been used a lot more recently: in the early 20th century, when Britain controlled India's supply of cotton, Germany and Austria got busy developing nettle as their own source of fabric. During World War I, German uniforms were made of it. Nettle can produce fabric dye, too. In the 1990s, German botanists re-discovered earlier research into high-fiber nettles, and today, various European clothing manufacturers specialize in nettle fabric clothing. Unlike cotton, the perennial nettle plant grows without pesticides.

(podcast: The Plant Detective, 8/2/14)

Beth Anne Austein has been spinning tunes on the air (The Folk Show, Dancing With Tradition, Freeforms), as well as recording, editing and mixing audio for Montana Public Radio and Montana PBS, since the Clinton Administration. She’s jockeyed faders or "fixed it in post” for The Plant Detective; Listeners Bookstall; Fieldnotes; Musicians Spotlight; The Write Question; Storycorps; Selected Shorts; Bill Raoul’s music series; orchestral and chamber concerts; lecture series; news interviews; and outside producers’ programs about topics ranging from philosophy to ticks.
Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information
Related Content
  • 5/3/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" Compounds in Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) soothe inflammation and help cells regenerate - hence the…
  • 5/10/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" For centuries, the root of Astragalus membranaceus has been used in Chinese traditional medicine, usually in…
  • 5/17/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" The harsh living conditions of rhodiola, a plant that grows at high latitudes and elevations, might explain…
  • 5/24/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" Cloud mushroom, used for centuries in Chinese medicine, shows immunomodulator properties, helping prolong…
  • 5/31/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" The rhizome of Zingiber officinale is eaten as a spice, a medicine, and a delicacy. It's an old remedy for…
  • 6/7/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" For thousands of years, people in India, China, and Indonesia have used gotu kola to heal wounds, improve…
  • 6/14/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" Aloe was one of the most frequently prescribed medicines throughout most of the 18th and 19th centuries. It…
  • 6/21/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" Even today, many elderly Chinese still prefer a good ginseng root to health insurance. American ginseng…
  • 6/28/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" According to archaeologists, human use of tea, Camellia sinensis, goes back 500,000 years. The flavonoids in…
  • 7/5/14: This week on The Plant Detective: They may have different flavors but black, green, white and oolong teas all come from the same plant: Camellia…
  • 7/12/14: This week on The Plant Detective: Asian ginseng, Panax ginseng, helps people with Type 2 diabetes maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Both Asian…
  • When taken as herbal medicine, echinacea stimulates our immune systems, raising white blood cell counts and strengthening cell walls. Although it…
  • It's not called "stinging nettle" for nothing: if you're going to spend time in a nettle patch, cover up. The hairs on nettle's leaves and stems are…