First and foremost, make sure you are harvesting from areas free of chemicals. I don’t recommend gathering from roadsides, as these tend to be areas that often get sprayed with herbicide.
Harvest the first 5-10 cm of the flowering tops in the early spring. Dead nettle is often confused with henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), another member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family that is low-growing with purple flowers; however, henbit is also edible!
Dead nettle can be rinsed with cool water just before using or drying. Just don’t soak for too long , as you don’t want them water-logged.
Hello,
Do these grow wild in Oregon?
Yes. They do grow wild in Oregon. I live in Southern Oregon and my yard grows tons of wild purple dead nettle.
This is a great site to learn about wild plants . Thanks .
Thanks Yvonne! I appreciate your acknowledgment.