#red dead nettle

[rebeccathenaturalist]

How to Identify Red Deadnettle

Originally posted on my website at https://rebeccalexa.com/how-to-identify-red-deadnettle/

Name: Red Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum)

Range and typical habitat(s): Native to large areas of Europe and Asia. Introduced invasive in United States, New Zealand, and  scattered areas of South America

Distinguishing physical characteristics (size, colors, overall shapes, detail shapes): Keep your eyes on lawns, gardens, roadsides, and other sunny areas this spring, and you may very well see the green and purple foliage of red deadnettle.

These heart-shaped leaves with softly serrated edges are covered in fine hairs. Leaves near the top of the slender, square-shaped stem are more of a reddish purple hue, while lower, larger leaves are a medium green. The leaves rarely exceed an inch and a half in length, and are attached to the stem with a slender stalk. Each leaf has palmate veins–several primary veins all starting near the stem–branching off multiple times into a reticulated network of smaller veins.

At the top of the stem, which may be almost a foot long in extraordinary specimens, you may find tiny pinkish purple trumpet-shaped flowers. A close look reveals one large petal at the top, two smaller ones at the bottom, and sometimes a few tiny ones in the space in between. While flowers are easily in evidence this time of year, red deadnettle may flower in other seasons if conditions are favorable. As it is an annual, it will die back in fall, but new generations are quick to germinate before winter sets in. For those wishing to remove it from their gardens, the shallow root systems mean that it is easy to pull up, especially in wet soil.

Red deadnettle is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). While it resembles a very tiny stinging nettle (Urtica spp.), its tiny hairs do not cause irritation, hence being described as “dead”. Other common names for this plant include purple deadnettle and purple archangel.

Other organisms it could be confused with and how to tell the difference: Purple henbit (Lamium amplexicale) is the most common lookalike for red deadnettle. They inhabit the same habitat types and are of similar size and colors. Upon closer inspection, the leaves are a good way to tell the difference. Henbit leaves are more rounded in shape with a scalloped, rather than serrated, edge. In fact, they almost give the impression of one large round leaf surrounding the square stem, especially near the top. The upper leaves have no stalks, while lower leaves have short stalks. While henbit has similar flowers, they are longer than those of deadnettle.

Note how henbit’s leaves and flowers are shaped and arranged differently than deadnettle’s.

Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) is similar to purple henbit, but the rounded, scalloped leaves are often a darker green on a green to dark red stem. Also, all the leaves have a small stem. It is easily differentiated from deadnettle by its flowers, which although being of a similar shaped are blue to purple in color. Ground ivy is also more shade-tolerant than deadnettle. As with the others, it is a European plant that has become invasive in North America.

Yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon) is yet another European wildflower that has taken root in North America and New Zealand, and to a lesser degree in South America. Its size is the most obvious way to differentiate it from red deadnettle and the rest; it grows on a single stalk that may be over thirty inches tall. The serrated, oval leaves and the yellow flowers are also larger than those of deadnettle, and there is no reddish tint to the foliage.

The stinging nettles (Urtica spp.) can similarly be differentiated from red dead nettle by size. Particularly tall specimens may reach seven feet high, and the green, heart-shaped leaves can be up to six inches long. The leave margins are more sharply serrated and the end is pointier. And, as the name suggests, the leaves and stems have hairs that inject irritating chemicals into the skin.

Anything else worth mentioning? Red deadnettle is a beginner-friendly edible plant for foraging. Henbit is the plant it’s most likely to be confused with, and it is also edible. People most commonly eat the young leaves and flowers at the top of the plant; they may be eaten raw or cooked. Because it is an invasive species, you are encouraged to pick the whole plant before it goes to seed, eat what you want of it, and compost the rest.

Further Reading:

Red Dead-Nettle

Lawn and Turfgrass Weeds: Dead Nettle

Dead Nettle, Henbit, and Ground Ivy – Three Look-Alike Weeds

Dead Nettle, an Overlooked yet Valuable Wild Edible

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[lady-book-trash]

Red/Purple Dead Nettle

Lamium Purpureum; abundant in this early spring Sun.

Edible & medicinal.

[bethlehem-garden]

Red dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) is a low-growing herbaceous plant that produces small purple flowers in the spring. It is a good choice for a low-maintenance ground cover that can thrive in partial shade to full sun. Bees in my garden love this stuff in the spring, and it can be an important source of early food for them. However, as a member of the mint family, it displays many weedy qualities and can spread quickly, outcompeting native plants and disrupting local ecosystems. As with any plant, it is important to research its potential invasiveness and take steps to control its spread if necessary.

[dubmill]

Grave of William Ballantine Hyne (d. 1921), Friern Barnet, London; 25.3.2023

[smittyreads]

Narrowed it down to my top 7 reads out of 64 from 2023 📚🎉

[nonuggetshere]

Just like on feather's blog: VIBE CHECK! How are you today/tonight?

HELLO, just came back home after a 4 hour walk with my mum :] We went to an ice cream shop, best ice-cream in the city if you ask me (would KILL for their salted carmel) and I took some pictures on Seek so I'd say my day was pretty great

Also, found a new queer bar :D

And finally completed my arthropod challenge on Seek thanks to this little guy (it's an European Firebug!)

[celinedemunter]

Can you believe these pictures were taken in my backyard?

Because of my good grades in the first semester, my father had given me his old canon camera with a removable tele lens.

During a study break, I decided to test the tele lens out with these results. In the beginning I was struggling with the distance, but after figuring out to leave a respectable distance from your subject to have clear images, I had immense fun.

[inthecityofgoodabode]

March 2023: Sunday Walk

Breakfast... well, as late as we got up, it was probably more like brunch: 

Seen while walking: 

The vetch is starting to bud out: 

Mole tunnel: 

Green & gray: 

[kristo-flowers]

Red dead-nettle

[gaytobymeres]

'badman'

[frothytundra]

Buttertubs Marsh Spring 2024

Twice around Buttertubs Marsh is a lovely 5k walk. There were lots of people out today enjoying the sunshine and the wildlife.

[solanaceaeartium]

Inktober 2019

red dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum)

[lady-book-trash]

Some succulent dead-nettle

It looks so good I swear I can taste it,.,,

Circa 2/14/23.

[summerwages]

red dead nettle..Lamium purpureum..

an edible mint family member and a bee foraging favorite..

[trippibrujx]

Plants of Santa Muerte

A

Agave: Self confidence, Love-Magic.

Aloe Vera: Protection(especially for children & pregnant women), self love, inner beauty.

Apple: Knowledge, wisdom, necromancy, healing psychosomatic ailments.

Apricot: Love-Magick (especially for gender-variant people). Wisdom spells (especially focused on one's own self or your masculine side if you're a woman, or feminine side if you're a man.

Avocado: Love and lust spells(attracting men), erotic beauty, increase male virility.

B

Beans: Friendship-Magick.

Belladonna: Lust(enhancing one's seductiveness), protection(cord-cutter), connect to other dimensions and realms of consciousness.

Berry: Raspberries are used in female fertility spells (Raspberries are used to create). Black berries are used in protection and healing psychological trauma (Blackberries are used to destroy).

Burdock: Protection(keeping harm and danger away), attraction (people, places, things).

C

Cactus: Protection(guard against those who wish to do harm), Chastity spells (ward off unwanted sexual advances/aggression).

Cherry: Love-Magick (lust to love).

Chili Peppers: Chastity spells, Protection(cooling/calming).

Chocolate: Luxury, prosperity, erotic love. Dark chocolate is preferred.

Chrysanthemum: Necromancy, communing with the dead.

Cilantro: Self-acceptance, self-love, stopping/preventing bullying(giving victim courage to stop being victimized), Maintain grace during stress.

Cinnamon: Money-Magick(expand prosperity), Lust-Magick(add sensuality to relationship).

Coca Leaves: Offering to spirits, tool of divination, aid to energize mind during meditation.

Coffee Beans: Break addictions, Breaking self illusions.

D

Dandelion: Self-confidence to be stand out of the crowd, Detoxify negative thinking.

H

Honeysuckle: Expedite spell speed.

Hyacinth: Gay male love-magick(help with coming out of the closet or accepting one's own homosexuality).

J

Jasmine: Dream work(prophetic dreams). magnifies emotions in spell work like love or lust.

L

Lemon: Cleansing, Healing-Magick.

Licorice: Hexes , harmful magick, combat addictions, promote longevity.

Lily: Break love spells, ease transitional pain of loss(friends, breakups, divorce, death).

Lime: Cleansing spiritual ailments, love magick(zest/strengthen relationships).

M

Marijuana: Protection(from law and harm), Money-Magick.

N

Nettle: Protection-Magick(to get a handle on what is causing harm). In Healing-Magick(get a hold on ailments(arthritis)).

O

Orange: Cleansing the mind of harmful thoughts and emotions, and countering sorrow and depression in it's physical association.

P

Palo Santo: Healing-Magick(unknown ailment), Protection-Magick(block all harm spiritual/physical/emotional).

Pau d'Arco: Healing-Magick(critical condition), Undo/abort magick spells that gone wrong.

Peach: Gay male love magick.

Peppermint: Memorization (students/lawyers), quell arguments, spats among friends/lovers/coworkers.

Plum: Healing magick(over-come blockages).

Pomegranate: Healing-Magick(blood and feminine ailments), Increase fertility, prosperity, empowers women.

R

Rose: Red(Erotic Love), Pink(romantic love), White(pure platonic love between friends/family/self-love), Yellow(love of life).

T

Tobacco: Communing with the Divine, empowers men.

V

Vanilla: Lust-Magick(foreplay, oral, fetishes).

W

Wine: Divination, development of psychic abilities.

Y

Yerba Mate: Protection-Magick(standing ground), mental clarity, self-confidence.

[warrior-names]

Edgy Warrior Prefixes & Suffixes

Return to your roots. Make cringe emo cats. etc.

50+ prefixes and 30+ suffixes under the cut!

Prefixes

A

Adder-

B

Bat-

Belladonna-

Black-

Bleeding-

Bone-

Broken-

C

Cold-

Crow-

D

Dark-

Dead-

Dusk-

E

Ebony-

Echo-

Eclipse-

Ember-

F

Fallen-

Fang-

Flea-

Foxglove-

Frozen-

H

Hemlock-

Holly-

Hornet-

I

Ice-

J

Jagged-

L

Lost-

M

Maggot-

Mandrake-

Moon-

N

Nettle-

Night-

Nightshade-

O

Oleander-

P

Poison-

Q

Quiet-

R

Rat-

Raven-

Red-

Rot-

Rotting-

S

Scarlet-

Scorpion-

Shade-

Sharp-

Shattered-

Silent-

Skull-

Snake-

Spider-

T

Tattered-

Thorn-

Torn-

V

Venom-

Viper-

W

Wasp-

Withered-

Y

Yew-

Suffixes

B

bite

bone

burn

C

claw

crush

cry

E

echo

F

fall

fang

frost

G

glare

H

heart

hiss

hope

howl

M

moon

S

scar

scratch

shade

slash

smoke

snap

snarl

spirit

sting

strike

T

tear

thorn

tooth

W

wail

whisper