Coastal BC Plants: Purple Dead Nettle
Purple Dead Nettle
I love spring! Wild flowers are in bloom. Here are some roadside posies I found down near the Shinglemill dock.
This one is called Purple Dead Nettle (lamium purpureum). It's a member of the mint family. When I first saw it as a young green plant I thought it was mint. It is listed as a invasive tenacious weed that originated in Europe. It is supposed to be edible and has herbal properties. Of course, don't eat anything wild that you cannot positively identify as safe. -- Margy
Labels:
Plants
Posts
Not like yours, lol! But it is now at the very beginning of Spring here; we still do not have any of the wildflowers blooming or the leaves out. But I notice Moss has bounced out with its unearthly green; I love it! I am surprised, actually, that there is Moss here, it being so dry...
ReplyDeleteI don't believe I've ever seen the pink posy at the top. I'd be interested in knowing what it is.
The pinky/purple flowering plant is Lamium purpureum - Purple Deadnettle. Sadly, not a native plant.
ReplyDeletep.s. I loved your little video of the fog drifting away - the opening bit is all silver and grey in a magical way.
Kate R
interesting plant, which I had not heard of.
ReplyDeleteROG, ABCW
such a pretty colour, what a shame it's a stinging nettle, quit often weed have pretty colours!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Di,
ABCW team.
I don't believe this is of the stinging variety, but we do have those in our area. Some people cook them to eat, but I haven't tried them. - Margy
DeleteI like the use of the word tenacious it is definitely something that all weeds have in common.
ReplyDeleteNot sure why that's the case, but they sure seem to do better than any garden variety of plant. Maybe because weeds are the rightful plants, and our gardens are party crashers. - Margy
DeleteI love the wild flowers too - and I've seen this all over the place but never knew what it was - nor did I take the time to research it. Thank you for the info. We do have a lot of wonderful wild flowers here don't we?
ReplyDeleteMargy, we live in Wisconsin now, where there are loads of wild flowering prairie grasses. But this photo took me back to my chilldhood in upstate New York, really country, a working dairy farm across the street. The wildflowers were truly wild! This post made me long for a visit home! Thanks so much, found you at ABC. Amy
ReplyDeleteMy husband grew up in upstate New York. He took me back there once to visit his mom before she moved out to be with us on the coast. It was a beautiful, lush country. - Margy
DeleteSo many invasive species...
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere this week that invasive species may be the salvation of the world. I'm not so sure about that. - Margy
Delete