Lamium maculatum

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Lamium maculatum
Lamium maculatum cm01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Lamium
Species:
L. maculatum
Binomial name
Lamium maculatum
L.

Lamium maculatum (also known as spotted dead-nettle, [1] spotted henbit [2] and purple dragon) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native throughout Europe and temperate Asia (Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, western China).

Contents

Description

Lamium maculatum is a prostrate, spreading herbaceous perennial. [3] This species is very variable in terms of leaf size and shape, hairiness and flower colours. It reaches on average 20–80 centimetres (7.9–31.5 in) in height. It has erect, hollow and pubescent stems, branched at the base only. The soft hairy leaf blades are about 2–10 centimetres (0.79–3.94 in) long. They are sometimes spotted (hence the Latin name maculatum), toothed with long petioles, about 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in) long. Their shape varies from ovate-triangular to heart-shaped. The inflorescence bears about two to eight hermaphrodite flowers about 20–30 millimetres (0.79–1.18 in) long. The flowers of the plant are formed in the leaf axils of the upper leaf pairs. The upper lips of the flowers are helmet-shaped, usually pink or purplish, while the bilobate lower ones are whitish with purple dots. The stamens are located in the upper lip and have orange pollen. The flowering period extends from April through November.

It tends to grow higher in spring while during the colder weather it is much flatter to the ground. If subjected to light frost, L. maculatum will recover in spring as it enters its growth cycle.

Habitat

It grows in a variety of habitats from open grassland to woodland, generally on moist, fertile soils at an altitude of 0–1,500 metres (0–4,921 ft) above sea level.

Cultivation

Lamium maculatum is valued as groundcover in moist, shady areas. It will rapidly colonise an area, and may become invasive given suitable growing conditions. Numerous cultivars have been developed, mainly for their coloured and varigated leaves, including:- [3]

Synonyms

  • Lamium affine Guss. & Ten. in M.Tenore
  • Lamium album var. maculatum L.
  • Lamium cardiaca Cogn.
  • Lamium columnae Ten.
  • Lamium cupreum Schott
  • Lamium cupreum subsp. dilatatum (Schur) Nyman
  • Lamium dilatatum Schur
  • Lamium elegantissimum Schur
  • Lamium foliosum Crantz
  • Lamium grandiflorum Willd. ex Benth.
  • Lamium grenieri Mutel
  • Lamium gundelsheimeri K.Koch
  • Lamium hirsutum Lam.

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Lamium maculatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN   978-1405332965.