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Lamiaceae
Red Dead Nettle
Lamium purpureum
Humble resilience and early-season generosity.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Lamium
- Native to
- Europe, western Asia
- Bloom season
- Early Spring, Spring, Autumn
- Type
- annual
- Height
- 10–30 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- moist, fertile, disturbed ground
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 4–8 (annual)
- Lifespan
- annual; may behave as winter annual
Did you know
- Called 'dead' nettle because the leaves resemble stinging nettle but have no sting whatsoever.
- It is one of the first plants to bloom in spring, providing critical early-season nectar for emerging bees.
- The young leaves and stems are edible and can be used in salads, pesto, or brewed as tea.
- Red dead nettle can produce seeds that germinate without pollination through cleistogamy (self-fertilization in closed flowers).
- It has naturalized on every continent except Antarctica, thriving in gardens, fields, and roadsides worldwide.
Color meanings
Purple
modest bounty for pollinators