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Flower Spotlight: Dead Nettle, Ground Ivy, Self Heal

4/5/2018

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Usually I separate individual flowers for the spotlight series, but the three below have such similarly shaped flowers, are all part of the mint family, and can be found nearby blooming about the same time, I though it would be best to show them together so you can see the similarities and differences side by side.
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Purple flowers you may find almost everywhere you go. What are they? How can you tell them apart? Why are they everywhere?
You will find the first two blooming soon in a field nearby.
Dead Nettle
Ground Ivy
Self Heal

Dead Nettle

Picture
Picture
Q: What's green and purple and in the springtime covers all the unplowed fields?
A: Deadnettle aka Purple Archangel (Lamium purpureum L.)
This non-native, mildly invasive, species is not an actual nettle, it is instead part of the mint family.
​
Uses:
In the spring, the young leaf shoots are harvestable and can be used as an addition to salads. 
The early flowers are also a very important source of food for bees and butterflies. 
Medicinally it is said to slow external hemorrhaging, can be used as an antioxidant and laxative, help with sciatica and sooth excema and rashes .

Ground-ivy/Creeping Charlie

Picture
(Glechoma hederacea)
Known by many other names- ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, alehoof, tun hoof, cats foot, field balm, and run-away-roin, is a regular in fields, yards, gardens, waste areas, really anywhere being a non-native invasive species to North America. 
This plant grows low to the ground (rarely rising up past an inch or two unless it's creeping over another plant or rock). It can be differentiated from Henbit (not pictured, I have yet to find a specimen nearby) by the scalloped palmate leaves whereas Henbit has the same scalloping but the leaf goes the whole way around the stem (whorled). 

Uses:
Ground ivy was once used as a flavoring and clearing agent in beer brewing before it was replaced by hops in the 17th century (up til then hops was considered dangerous).
It has also been used to cure a wide variety of ailments... 
...disorders of the bladder, kidneys, digestive tract, gout, coughs, colds, ringing in the ears, asthma, jaundice, headaches, and as an astringent and diuretic!


Self Heal

Picture
Blooming a little later in the season, Self heal/heal-all (Prunella vulgaris) is a NATIVE species that has tendencies to become invasive (yep, invasive are not all non-native).
It can be found in yards, fields, and prairies in mid to late summer. Like the other two it is also a member of the mint family sporting the trademark square stem.
​
Uses:
Its name is derived from its use as a herbal remedy for throat ailments.
It is a very important food source for bumblebees and butterflies and is the larval host plant for the clouded sulphur butterfly!
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    Since 2015 we have been exploring and sharing all the amazing things we’ve found in nature.
    From great and unique places to explore, to learning about new and interesting plant species, to understanding the earth’s cycles.
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    Emily is an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist who is most often found out in the woods. 

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  • Home
  • Shop
    • Shop
    • Photography
    • 2021 Art Exhibition
  • Blog
  • Adventure
  • Plant Profiles
  • One Year Studies
    • Barnes Preserve >
      • Barnes Short Loop
      • Barnes Long Loop
      • BP Pond Overlook
    • Walton Woods Wildflower Sanctuary >
      • Walton Woods Lower Trail
      • Walton Woods Burning Bush
    • Brown's Lake Bog >
      • Bog Boardwalk
      • Bog Loop
    • Wooster Memorial Park >
      • Sycamore Tree
      • Trillium Hill
      • WMP Prairie
  • Contact