Nettle
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Prov 24:31; Zeph 2:9) - a familiar wild plant whose leaves bear stinging hairs that cause sharp itching and a sensation like burning. Soaked or wilted leaves lose this force. An abundance of nettles marks neglected, uncultivated ground. Solomon says, 'I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof' (Prov 24:30-31). Zephaniah declares that Moab shall be as Sodom and Ammon as Gomorrah, 'the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation' (Zeph 2:9). Isaiah 34:13 and Hosea 9:6 use the plant similarly. Nettles grow around dwellings, waste ground, fences, and gardens, flowering from mid-June until late autumn.