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[6] and coarsely textured pairs of leaves, often with striking patterns or variegation. They produce double-lipped flowers in a wide range of colours.[7]
Lamium album L. – (white dead-nettle) – widespread across Europe + northern Asia from Spain + Norway to Japan + Kamchatka; naturalized in New Zealand + North America
Lamium amplexicaule L. – (henbit dead-nettle) – widespread across Europe and northern Asia from Spain + Norway to Japan + Kamchatka, as well as North Africa, Ethiopia, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands; naturalized in New Zealand, Hawaii, South America + North America
Lamium bifidum Cirillo – Mediterranean from Portugal to Romania
Lamium galeobdolon (L.) L. – (yellow archangel) – northern + central Europe and western Asia from Spain + Denmark east to Iran + Western Siberia; naturalized in North America, New Zealand,
Madeira
Lamium garganicum L. – Mediterranean + western Asia from Portugal to Kazakhstan + Saudi Arabia
Lamium maculatum (L.) L. – (spotted white dead-nettle, purple dragon) – Europe + Middle East from Portugal to Turkey; also Gansu + Xinjiang Provinces of western China
Lamium orvala L. – Austria, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia
Lamium purpureum L. (red dead-nettle) – northern + central Europe and western Asia from Spain + Denmark east to Caucasus + Siberia; naturalized in Korea, Taiwan, North America, New Zealand, Argentina, Falkland Islands
The generic name Lamium was used by
Pliny the Elder in the first century AD.[8][9] The name comes from the Greek laimos, which means "gullet", a reference to the gaping throat-like appearance of the corolla.[10]
The common name "dead-nettle" has been derived from the German Taubnessel ("deaf nettle", or "nettle without a kernel"),[11] and refers to the
resemblance of Lamium album[12] 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.[7] 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.
^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
DeFelice, Michael S. (2005). "Henbit and the Deadnettles, Lamium spp.: Archangels or Demons?". Weed Technology. 19 (3): 768–774.
JSTOR3989505.