Stinging nettles can pack a nasty wallop, but they also bring down fevers, and improve the symptoms of some diseases according to Bermudian plant expert Nell Johnston.

"We used to make a stinging nettle tea to use for measles," Mrs. Johnston told The Royal Gazette. "In the old days they always gave you stinging nettle tea to bring out the measles. It is also good for fevers and for diarrhoea.

"Once the stinging nettles are cooked they lose their sting. They can be eaten just like a vegetable."

Of course one might think that cooked nettles are one thing, but what about getting them into the pot in the first place?

"I guess you would collect them with gloves or something to avoid being stung," laughed Mrs. Johnston.

And if you mess up and still sting yourself, you can always use another medicinal plant aloe. "You need something cooling," added Mrs. Johnston.

Mrs. Johnston has given plant tours at the Botanical Gardens for more than fifteen years, and was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by the Queen a a few years ago for her community work, and received an environmental award from the Bermuda National Trust last year.

"I learned about medicinal plants from my grandparents who were both keen gardeners," she said.

"My grandparents had all sorts of plants. Being that they were interested, I also became interested, not just in plants for medicine, but in plants in general."

Today, she likes to plant a tree a day.

"At least I plant something," she said. "After this I am going home to plant some seeds. I think it is going to be paw-paws. Paw-paws are good for a lot of things, blood pressure, worms, eating."

Today Mrs. Johnston is part of a shrinking group of older Bermudians who know that cochineal tea may be very bitter and slimy, but is good for the blood.

"I keep it in the fridge all summer to use as a cleansing drink," she said. "You just peel it, soak it and drink the water."

She said it was easy to confuse cochineal with prickly pear. "Cochineal is green-green and prickly pear is blue-green," she said. "Prickly pear will grow wild, but cochineal is usually a garden plant."

She said when she was growing up in the Town Hill area of Flatts, she never knew her grandparents to go to the doctor.

"Most Bermudians at that time didn't have much money, and there was no insurance so they just used what they had in their garden," she added.

She said that today many people think the medicinal plants in their garden are actually weeds.

"Dandelions, for example," she said. "You can make a tea from the flowers, and the leaves can be used as a vegetable. You can put the young leaves in a salad without cooking them. It is kind of spicy, so I always mix it with another green such as spinach or mustard greens."

Allspice has a number of uses. "The berries are what we buy as allspice today," she said. "But it is also good for an upset stomach, and also digestion. Allspice is used a lot in pickling and sauces. The green allspice leaves, when they are boiled, make an oil. So to make a tea I usually dry the leaves. When the leaves are dry they don't give you an oil. That is another refreshing thing to drink."

She said she has been told many times that she should write a book so that her knowledge will be passed to future generations.

"We tried to put together something that could be used in schools to teach the children, but we couldn't get the funds. "

So if you want to tap into her knowledge, you're probably going to have to attend one of her lectures.

Mrs. Johnston is not only involved in teaching the community about plants but is active in the community in other ways, including working with young people.

"Nell has been involved with the botany camp here at the Botanical Gardens for many summers," said Ms Lisa Greene, a local botanist and author of 'Bermuda's Flora' volumes one and two. "She has also been involved in Girl Guides forever. She is also usually in charge of one of our buildings during the Annual Exhibition, and gives workshops on plants when people are building floats for parades."

She said that people should use caution when ingesting or applying things from their garden.

"In general, people who don't know plants should be very cautious in their learning," said Ms Greene. "They should make sure they have the right plants and make sure they know how to use them.

"Many plants can look alike, and also have very nasty effects on you."

She said people needed to gather as much information as they could about a plant and what it looks like before they use it.

"They should search around for pictures and books, but always be careful of the source," said Ms Greene. "The Internet is great, but it is also really easy to misidentify a plant.

"You need to ask 'how well does the source know what they are talking about? Does the picture that comes up with the search actually represent the plant you are looking for, or does it just happen to be on the same page?'"

Mrs. Johnston also urged people to do their research.

"All things can have a negative effect if too much is used," she said. "There are also a lot of plants that you can become dependent on."

Mrs. Johnston will be giving a talk for the Bermuda Botanical Society at the Visitors Centre at the Botanical Gardens next Sunday with Ms Greene.

The lecture 'Herbal Remedies from Locally Grown Plants' will be about the historic uses of medicinal herbs and plants in Bermuda.

Mrs. Johnston's lecture begins at 3.30 p.m.. Doors will open at 3 p.m.. The talk is free for members of The Botanical Society and $5 for non-members.