Nettles

A fellow was telling me last night about how he brews tea from the leaves of the stinging nettles that flourish in his backyard. After donning cowhide gloves, he carefully picks the leaves, rips them in half, pours boiling water over them and lets them steep for 15 to 20 minutes. He then puts an ice cube in the concoction to cool it off and drinks it. He said it tastes bitter, so he'll sometimes steep the leaves along with some regular loose tea.
Why does he do this? He believes the tea is a natural histamine blocker.
If you're unfamiliar with stinging nettle, let me stress that the first step -- wearing gloves -- is critical. All you need to do is brush up against the plant's little stinging hairs and you will feel it the rest of the day.
According to Wikipedia, nettle leaves are also used as an early-spring vegetable (they are said to taste like spinach) and are made into soups, cordials and beer. And in Great Britain, competitors in the annual Stinging Nettle Eating Championship in Dorset "attempt to eat as much of the raw plant as possible. Competitors are given 60 cm (20 in) stalks of the plant, from which they strip the leaves and eat them. Whoever strips and eats the most stinging nettle leaves in a fixed time is the winner. The competition dates back to 1986, when two neighboring farmers attempted to settle a dispute about which had the worst infestation of nettles."