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Home  /  Plants  /  Budburst Species  /  Lamium amplexicaule

COMMON NAME

Henbit deadnettle

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Lamium amplexicaule

ALSO KNOWN AS

Common henbit, henbit

Plant family

Mint (Lamiaceae)

Plant group

Wildflowers and Herbs

Henbit deadnettle is an herbaceous annual plants that was introduced across most of North America.
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OBSERVERS
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OBSERVATIONS
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Identification hints

Henbit deadnettle is an herbaceous member of the mint family. It has a square stem, lower stemmed leaves that do not have flowers and upper leaves without stems that are located just below the pink to purple two-lipped flowers. The square stem (like all plants in the mint family) is an excellent way to differentiate henbit deadnettle from Persian speedwell when neither plant is in flower (speedwell also tends to be much smaller and is in moist habitats). The red dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) has smaller flowers (not extending above the leaves) and reddish upper leaves. Henbit deadnettle is sometimes confused with Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea), another weedy member of the mint family that has flowers that are more blue-purple. The spots on henbit flowers can also help differentiate from other Lamium species.
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Did you know?

Henbit deadnettle is introduced to North America and can out-compete native species in some areas, which is not surprising when you find out that a single plant can produce hundreds of seeds which stay viable for several years! Henbit can self-pollinate but also attract many pollinators including honeybees, which are also not native to North America. There are no species in the Lamium genus native to North America, but many introduced species, like this one, can escape from cultivation. As with many plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, henbit is edible, and young plants can be eaten raw or cooked.
DISTRIBUTION IN TH U.S.
Alabama , Arkansas , Arizona , California , Colorado , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Iowa , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Massachusetts , Maryland , Maine , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Mississippi , Montana , North Carolina , North Dakota , Nebraska , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , Nevada , New York , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Virginia , Vermont , Washington , Wisconsin , West Virginia , Wyoming
HABITAT
Henbit deadnettle is found in every state except for Alaska. It is very common in disturbed areas including yards, parks, croplands, fields, and roadsides. In dry grassland areas, it is more common in shaded areas with more moisture. It is treated as an undesirable species throughout the U.S.
ATTRIBUTES
Leaves
The plant has two types of leaves. The lower leaves have stems (petioles) and are not associated with the flowers. The upper leaves are sessile (no stems) and located just below the flower clusters. Both leaf types are similar in shape being somewhat heart shaped, toothed, and opposite. Leaves and stems are hairy. The stems of henbit deadnettle are square, similar to many other plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae.
Flowers
The flowers are ½ to ¾ inch long, usually pink to purple to white. Typically whorls of 4 to 10 flowers are found at the tips of stems or coming out of the sides along the stem. Flowers look like a long tube that splits into a hooded top petal and lower petal with two protruding lips. Viewed under a hand lens, the flower bracts (the floral leaves that protect developing flowers) are very hairy.
Fruits
Tiny brown nutlets are contained in a fruit with four chambers called a "schizocarp" at the base of dried flowers.
Bloom Time
Flowering can begin early in the year, as soon as spring hits or through winter in milder Mediterranean climates.

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