Purple Dead-Nettle February 15, 2022

By Tulla Lightfoot

Purple Dead-Nettles

Purple Dead-Nettles are the first flowers I saw way back on February 15th.  They were growing in an open spot on the trail next to the powerlines close to where the trail dips under an overpass.  At first, I saw only a few blooms and leaves, but as the month progressed, more and more grew, covering the ground in clumps.  Soon, I started seeing these flowers as I walked around my neighborhood, mainly on the part between the sidewalk and the curb, which I discovered had a name and was called the “parkway” or a “verge”.  Purple Dead-Nettles grow from their roots, prefer full sun to light shade and moist fertile soil.  The plant can be found in gardens as ground cover, but more often you’ll see the plant in disturbed areas like those on the side of a road, or trail.

The botanical name for these flowers is Lamium purpureum, which means, purple Lamium.  Lamium is a genus of plants native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa.  Lamium purpureum is related to the mint family.  Its leaves are fuzzy and along with the blossoms, might also have a purple color on the top leaves.  The flowers are small and tubular, with several emerging from a central axis.  These can vary in color from pink, to purple to red. The leaves are oval shaped and jagged growing off of long, square stems.   Usually the plant grows low to the ground, but it can grow as tall as 8” to 10”.  The people who named it believed it to resemble the stinging nettle plant, but noted that it did not have the stinging hairs, or “trichomes”, on the leaves and stems.  These inject histamine and other chemicals into any animal that makes contact with it.  Because of this, Purple Dead-Nettles are easy to differentiate from true Nettles.  However, they also resemble another flower, the Henbit.  This is another annual winter weed which can be identified by its stem.  The Henbit’s stem is rounded.  The Purple Dead-Nettle stem is square with sharply defined edges. 

In the US this plant is usually considered a weed but it is edible and was considered so valuable that colonists brought it with them as they settled the Americas.  One website claims it is a “highly nutritious superfood” full of vitamins A and C and also a good source of iron.  The fuzzy leaves are edible, and the purple tops are even a little sweet.  The fuzziness can be distracting in a salad, but are fine as a mixed green or in a stir fry.  They can also be blended into smoothies, or added to soups.  Be sure to snip the stems about ½” from the ground and gently shake it to remove dirt and bugs.  Rinse with cool water just before using and don’t soak it too long or the plant will turn to mush and not taste good.  The plant can also be dried or used fresh and made into a tea, although ingesting too much of it may act as a laxative.  Some people claim that the plant is good for the kidneys, and may even relieve allergies. 

As a medicine it is an astringent.  It can be used as a diuretic and purgative.  The leaves can be made into a salve or used on external wounds because they contain anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.  Some claim that the leaves can even heal bruises.  In addition, this plant is great for chicken feed because it’s one of the first flowering plants to bloom in the spring.  It’s also valuable to foraging bees. 

You can find more information on Purple Dead-Nettles on these websites:

https://www.bbg.org/news/purple_deadnettle  Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

Melissa K Norris  “Purple Dead Nettle – Foraging, Medicinal and Cooking Guide”

Michael Pendley, https://www.realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/purple-dead-nettle-pilaf retrieved 2-10-2022

Here’s the painting I made of Purple Dead-Nettles.