White deadnettle
Commonly confused with stinging nettles, especially before it flowers, but if you look really closely it doesn’t have the stinging hairs; Also, a top tip …
Category: Lamiaceae
Mint or Deadnettle family
Size
236 genera, 7500 species
Notable genera:
- Basil (Ocimum)
- Mint (Mentha)
- Sage (Salvia)
- Thyme (Thymus)
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus)
- Lavender (Lavandula)
- Oregano (Origanum)
- Catnip (Nepeta)
- Bee balm (Monarda)
- Woundworts (Stachys)
- Deadnettles (Lamium)
- Hemp nettles (Galeopsis)
- Teak (Tectona).
Key features
- Mostly herbaceous (some woody), occasional trees or vines.
- Many are aromatic.
- Often hairy.
- Stem is 4 angled/sided.
- Simple leaves.
- Opposite pairs.
- Alternating 90 degrees.
- Flowers in groups.
- 5 petals; 5 sepals.
- Flowers look like lips.
Ground Ivy
The taste of Ground Ivy raw is so pungent that it is difficult for most people to chew an entire leaf; However, that flavour mellows considerably on cooking, and so makes an excellent addition for stock, sauces and gravies.
Black Horehound
It is a common, perhaps unremarkable, plant with one defining feature – its pungent, rotten smell. This smell, particularly apparent when the leaves are crushed, keeps herbivores away and gives it a local name of ‘Stinking roger’ in some places.