Lamium

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Lamium
Lamium purpureum - verev iminoges Keilas.jpg
Lamium amplexicaule
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Lamioideae
Genus: Lamium
L. [1]
Type species
Lamium purpureum
L.
Synonyms [2]
  • OrvalaL.
  • LamiastrumHeist. ex Fabr.
  • GaleobdolonAdans.
  • PollichiaSchrank.
  • PsilopsisNeck.
  • WiedemanniaFisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • LamiopsisOpiz
  • LamiellaFourr.

Lamium (dead-nettles) is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, of which it is the type genus. They are all herbaceous plants native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, but several have become very successful weeds of crop fields and are now widely naturalised across much of the temperate world. [3] [4]

Contents

Description

The genus includes both annual and perennial species; they spread by both seeds and stems rooting as they grow along the ground. They have square stems [5] and coarsely textured pairs of leaves, often with striking patterns or variegation. They produce double-lipped flowers in a wide range of colours. [6]

Taxonomy

In volume 2 of Species Plantarum published in 1753, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus established genus Lamium by recognizing four species: Lamium album, Lamium purpureum, Lamium amplexicaule, and Lamium multifidum. [7] [8] The name LamiumL. is the primary generic name in use today. [2] [9]

As of May 2024, Plants of the World Online accepts the following species: [2]

Several closely related genera were formerly included in Lamium by some botanists, including Galeopsis (hemp-nettles) and Leonurus (motherworts).[ citation needed ]

Etymology

The generic name Lamium was used by Pliny the Elder in the first century AD. [10] [11] The name comes from the Greek laimos, which means "gullet", a reference to the gaping throat-like appearance of the corolla. [12]

The common name "dead-nettle" has been derived from the German Taubnessel ("deaf nettle", or "nettle without a kernel"), [13] and refers to the resemblance of Lamium album [14] to the very distantly related stinging nettles, but unlike those, they do not have stinging hairs and so are harmless or apparently "dead".

Cultivation

Lamium species are widely cultivated as groundcover, and numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use. [6] They are frost hardy and grow well in most soils. Flower colour determines planting season and light requirement: white- and purple-coloured flowered species are planted in spring and prefer full sun. The yellow-flowered ones are planted in fall (autumn) and prefer shade. They often have invasive habits and need plenty of room.

Ecology

Scanograph of Lamium moschatum Scanograph of Lamium moschatum.jpg
Scanograph of Lamium moschatum

Lamium species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including angle shades, setaceous Hebrew character and the Coleophora case-bearers C. ballotella, C. lineolea and C. ochripennella.

Related Research Articles

<i>Lamium purpureum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lamium purpureum, known as red dead-nettle, purple dead-nettle, or purple archangel, is an annual herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe and Asia but it can also be found in North America.

<i>Onopordum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Onopordum, or cottonthistle, is a genus of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. They are native to southern Europe, northern Africa, the Canary Islands, the Caucasus, and southwest and central Asia. They grow on disturbed land, roadsides, arable land and pastures.

<i>Aira</i> Genus of grasses

Aira is a genus of Old World plants in the grass family, native to western and southern Europe, central and southwest Asia, plus Africa.

<i>Xeranthemum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Xeranthemum is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae, native to Southern Europe. It has silvery flower heads with purplish tubular flowers.

<i>Aegilops</i> Genus of grasses

Aegilops is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the grass family, Poaceae. They are known generally as goatgrasses. Some species are known as invasive weeds in parts of North America.

<i>Lamium galeobdolon</i> Species of flowering plant

Lamium galeobdolon, the yellow archangel, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia but it is widely introduced in North America and elsewhere. It is the only species in the genus Lamium with yellow flowers. Another common name for this species is golden dead-nettle. In New Zealand, it is called the aluminium plant or artillery plant. The common names archangel and dead-nettle have been in use for hundreds of years, dating back to at least the 16th century.

<i>Hydrocharis</i> Genus of aquatic plants

Hydrocharis is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Hydrocharitaceae described as a genus by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is widespread across much of Europe and Asia, plus a few scattered locations in Africa. It is also reportedly naturalized in parts of North America.

<i>Holcus</i> Genus of grasses

Holcus is a genus of African and Eurasian plants in the oat tribe within the grass family.

<i>Lamium amplexicaule</i> Species of flowering plant

Lamium amplexicaule, commonly known as henbit dead-nettle, is a species of Lamium native to most of Europe, Asia and northern Africa. Its status in Great Britain and Ireland is disputed; some sources give it as native, while others cite it as an archaeophyte. The specific name refers to the amplexicaul leaves.

<i>Lamium album</i> Species of flowering plant

Lamium album, commonly called white dead-nettle, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native throughout Europe and Asia, growing in a variety of habitats from open grassland to woodland, generally on moist, fertile soils.

Henbit may refer to:

<i>Lamium maculatum</i> Species of plant

Lamium maculatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native throughout Europe and temperate Asia.

<i>Sternbergia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae

Sternbergia is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae.

<i>Thalictrum flavum</i> Species of flowering plant

Thalictrum flavum, known by the common names common meadow-rue, poor man's rhubarb, and yellow meadow-rue, is a flowering plant species in the family Ranunculaceae. It is a native to Caucasus and Russia (Siberia). Growing to 100 cm (39 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) broad, it is an herbaceous perennial producing clusters of fluffy yellow fragrant flowers in summer.

<i>Lamium orvala</i> Species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae

Lamium orvala, known as balm-leaved archangel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to Europe.

<i>Allium roseum</i> Species of flowering plant

Allium roseum, commonly called rosy garlic, is an edible, Old World species of wild garlic. It is native to the Mediterranean region and nearby areas, with a natural range extending from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey and the Palestine region. It is cultivated widely, and has become naturalised in scattered locations in other regions outside its natural range.

<i>Asplenium adiantum-nigrum</i> Species of ferns in the family Aspleniaceae

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum is a common species of fern known by the common name black spleenwort. It is found mostly in Africa, Europe, and Eurasia, but is also native to a few locales in Mexico and the United States.

<i>Galeopsis</i> Genus of plants

Galeopsis is a genus of annual herbaceous plants native to Europe and Asia. Members of this genus often have common names ending in hemp-nettle or hempnettle. Some species are naturalized in North America and New Zealand.

<i>Psammophiliella muralis</i> Species of plant

Psammophiliella muralis is a species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is known as annual gypsophila, cushion baby's-breath and low baby's-breath, an annual plant principally native to Europe except the British Isles. It can be also found in Central Asia, Turkey, the Caucasus, and Siberia. It is one of two species in genus Psammophiliella.

<i>Scilla amoena</i> Species of flowering plant

Scilla amoena, the star hyacinth or squill, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Scilla.

References

  1. Carl Linnaeus (1753) Species Plantarum, p. 579.
  2. 1 2 3 "LamiumL.". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  3. Altervista Flora Italiana, Genere Lamium includes photos and distribution maps for Europe and North America
  4. Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 157 野芝麻属 ye zhi ma shu Lamium Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 579. 1753.
  5. Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012. Webb's An Irish Flora. p. 355. Cork University Press. ISBN   978-185918-4783
  6. 1 2 RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN   978-1405332965.
  7. "LamiumL.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  8. Linnaeus (1753), Vol. 2, p. 579.
  9. "LamiumL.". WFO Plant List. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  10. Gledhill (2008), p. 229.
  11. DeFelice (2005), p. 768.
  12. "Lamium galeobdolon". Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  13. Wedgwood, Hensleigh (1855). "On False Etymologies". Transactions of the Philological Society (6): 70.
  14. Brown, V. K.; Lawton, J. H.; Grubb, P. J. (29 August 1991). "Herbivory and the Evolution of Leaf Size and Shape [and Discussion]". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 333 (1267): 265–272. doi:10.1098/rstb.1991.0076. ... appearance of vegetative plants of white dead-nettles (Lamium album) (Labiatae) bear a close resemblance to stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) (Urticaceae). Stinging hairs deter soft-muzzled, grazing mammals, suggesting that dead-nettles are harmless Batesian mimics. However, many other labiates that do not closely mimic nettles have ovate leaves with serrate margins, so if this is a case of true mimicry, it may have involved rather little modification in leaf shape. ...

Bibliography