Deadnettle - introduced (*Lamium amplexicaule)
Other names: Henbit.
Family: Lamiaceae (Mint family).
Native of Europe.
Occurrence: Occasional weed of roadsides and waste areas.
Identification:
- it is a plant to about 30 cm high
- the stems are hollow and have a square cross section
- the flowers are pink and narrow tubular, growing in rings, and with two spreading lips
- the lip nearest the stalk is rounded; the lip away from the stalk is lobed
- the leaves at the base of the flowers are toothed, and in opposite pairs; those at the base of the plant are on long stalks
Deadnettle is an annual. It is reputed to cause staggers in sheep.
Nettle: from the resemblance of the leaves of Lamiums to Stinging Nettles; dead because of the absence of stinging hairs. In Europe the two unrelated nettles sometimes grow together, and is likely to be an example of mimicry providing protection to the imitator. Lamium from the Greek laimos the throat, referring to the long floral tube. The throat is too long for honeybees to reach the nectar (except by breaking through the tube), but not too long for bumble bees. amplexicaule from amplexis = clasped, caulis = a stem, referring to the stem-clasping leaves.
