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Latin name: Lamium amplexicaule
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Family: Lamiaceae, Mint family
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Common name: common dead nettle,
or henbit
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Life cycle: usually an annual,
but can be a short-lived perennial in protected areas.
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Habit: Spreading and mounding. Spreads
indefinitely in all directions, and will grow to about 12 inches tall.
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Foliage: Foliage is arranged oppositely
around square stems and is pubescent. The term amplexicaul means 'to clasp the stem'.
Foliage on this plant does in fact clasp the stem, hence its name.
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Flowers: Flowers are reddish pink in
color, tubular, and occur in axillary
clusters at terminal foliage.
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Stems: Like all plants in the mint
family, common dead nettle has square stems. This is an excellent
way to differentiate this plant from Persian speedwell when neither plant
is in flower.
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Look alikes: Lamium purpureum (red dead nettle)
and Veronica persica
(Persian speedwell)
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