Species: Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum)
Family: Mints and Dead-Nettles (LAMIACEAE or LABIATAE)
Category: Flowering Plants
Location: NW
A. Flowering Plants
More extensive information on flowering plants can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Mints and Dead-Nettles (LAMIACEAE or LABIATAE)
Often aromatic, the members of this large family have square stems, and usually undivided leaves in opposite pairs. The flowers are normally two-lipped and open-mouthed.
C. Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum)
Like all the dead-nettles this downy aromatic native has no sting, and is not related to the stinging nettle. It flowers at all times of the year. The heart-shaped, bluntly toothed, wrinkled, leaves are all stalked. Dead nettles are astringent and styptic, and aid the healing of wounds and control excessive menstrual bleeding. When the roots are boiled in milk the preparation brings out measles.
The Red Dead-nettle is classed as an archaeophyte plant. This means that it is non-native to Britain but was introduced in 'ancient' times. Generally, this means that this type of plant was introduced prior to 1492 when Columbus arrived in the New World and the widespread transfer of plants between the Americas and the Old World first began. (Link to Wikipedia article on archaeophytes).
Images
Red Dead-nettle
Like all the dead-nettles, the Red Dead-nettle is a downy aromatic native that has no sting. It is not related to the stinging nettle.
Red Dead-nettle
The red-tinged leaves atop the Red Dead-nettle, and its pink flowers, are distinctive.
