(Lamium purpurium)
Description
The red dead-nettle is a mostly annual flowering plant belonging to the mint family. Its appearance is somewhat similar to stinging nettles, having pointed leaves with a serrated edge growing on a long stem. Unlike stinging nettles, however, this plant has more rounded teeth and a purplish tint on its leaves as well as bright red-pink flowers. Importantly to humans, it does not sting. The plant’s flowers have two petals and appear between March and October. Red dead-nettles grow up to around 30 cm tall.
Young red dead-nettles look similar to henbit dead-nettles but may be distinguished as their first leaves are more triangular.
Distribution
Red dead-nettles tend to grow in farmland, woodland, or more urban environments. They can often be found in areas where the ground has been disturbed, such as the edges of fields or by roadsides. These plants are native to the UK.
Interactions
Red dead-nettles are valuable sources of pollen for long-tongued insects, such as bumblebees. Their leaves provide a food source for white ermine, angle shades and garden tiger moth caterpillars.
Uses and Etymology
Red dead-nettles are edible and can be used to make things like salads, soups, smoothies and pesto. As well as this, they have medicinal uses as an astringent and diuretic and have been used to make a poultice for small wounds.
This plant is also known as the Purple dead-nettle in the US. The name dead-nettle refers to its nettle-like leaves and ‘dead’ lack of stinging hairs. The name purpureum in its binomial name means ‘purple’.
Further reading:
https://www.nativeflower.co.uk/details.php?plant_url=233
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/red-dead-nettle
