VIVIDLY IMAGINE: A hairy (little or much) savage (a person is usually 3 to 7 feet tall; like the plant) holding a spear. You don’t fear him because he has tied the tip (or the lance) of his spear, to the staff, with a white flag, as a sign of peace. After waving the flag his opens his arms for a hug. When he does this you notice that his armpit hair is so long that it’s dread-locked and falls to about his waistline. While giving him a hug you feel the sweat from his armpits drench your skin. At the same time he speaks into your ear ”I want to be domesticated; can you help me?” You tell him that grooming is an important first step and that he needs a haircut. He is also holding everything you need to do the job. Question: What’s the first step in getting a hair cut? Answer: Comb it out! The next step is to cut it. The final step is to clean up. Comb! Cut! Clean! OPTION: Dab the blood from nicks and cuts with the white flag. OPTION 2: The savage is so hairy that he has hair on the palm of his hands.
MNEMONIC EXPLAINED: A hairy (little or much; like the plant) savage (a person is usually 3 to 7 feet tall; like the plant) holding a spear (the spear represents the stout stem of the plant, and it’s lance shaped leaves with pointed tips). You don’t fear him because he has tied the tip (or the lance) of his spear, to the staff, with a white flag (the flag represents the green, leaflike appendages that grow from where the leaf [serrated lance] meets the stem [staff]), as a sign of peace. After waving the flag his opens his arms (leaves grow opposite along the stem) for a hug. When he does this you notice that his armpit hair is so long that it’s dread-locked and falls to about his waistline (a loose, dangling, branching cluster of many flowers develop from where leaves meet main stem [the axils]). While giving him a hug you feel the sweat from his armpits drench your skin (this is to remind you that nettle rash can be relieved by applying the juice of the leaves themselves, thus taking away the stinging of the nettles). At the same time he speaks into your ear ”I want to be domesticated; can you help me?” You tell him that grooming is an important first step and that he needs a haircut. He is also holding everything you need to do the job. Question: What’s the first step in getting a hair cut? Answer: Comb it out (use the teeth along the edge of his lance [serrated leaves]; also imagine the comb/teeth leaving grooves in his skin [plant stems have lateral grooves/ribs])! The next step is to cut it (use the teeth along the edge of his lance; imagine them being electric clippers; they’ll blur, chopping side to side, when turned on). The final step is to clean up (here you’ll imagine using the staff [represents the plant stem] of the spear as vacuum tube [plant stems are hollow]. Comb! Cut! Clean! OPTION 1: Dab the blood from nicks and cuts with the white flag (this option reinforces the green, leaflike appendages that grow from where the leaf [serrated lance] meets the stem [staff]). OPTION 2: The savage is so hairy that he has hair on the palm of his hands. Vividly imagine cutting that hair too. This reminds you that this particular nettle only has hairs on the bottom surface of each leaf (and stems). Another nettle has hairs on top and bottom surface of leaves (see: Similar Species under the Miscellaneous section for more details).
