Hey guys in this video we’ll take a look at a very common plant that’s easy to identify, known as Purple Dead Nettle, or Lamium purpureum. Purple Dead Nettle is frequently found in lawns, gardens, fields, edges of roadsides and edges of trails. Like its name implies the plant has purple flowers and even the leaves on the top of the plant will have a purple coloration to them. Though it’s called a nettle, it doesn’t actually sting like a regular Stinging Nettle would. The leaves of this plant are spade shaped with rounded teeth running along the margins. Being in the Mint family it has other characteristics that other mints carry, like having a square stem and an opposite leafing pattern. There are two shapes of leaves you will find on this plant. On the top of the plant are the spade shaped leaves mentioned earlier, and at the base of the plant the leaves will be more heart shaped, somewhat reminiscent of young Garlic Mustard leaves. Though it’s in the mint family it doesn’t have any minty flavor, instead it’s more peppery and grass like, so be aware of that when you use it in salads. This plant is edible and medicinal and is frequently used in teas and salves.
33 Comments
Your videos are always helpful and very well done. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Much love and respect… Peace.
Always the best identification videos too bad you're not in the PNW we have so many microclimate here.
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All over my yard…. I can’t wait to use this in salves & teas. 😎
Thank you.
Thank you, I always wondered what it was. Keep trying to identify everything in my yard.
I wish you would have added the medicimal benefits~
🌞I really enjoy your channel – thank you for the clear concise info
I was actually looking for info on the hen bit so killed two birds with one stone.
Thank you Josh. God bless you
I have so much of this growing by my house! I wondered if it had medicinal properties. thank you very much, very informative!
Thanks!
So happy your channel found me!
I have lots of dead nettle in my garden. Especially under my raspberry canes. Can you tell me if this is a competition issue? Should I remove it? Thank you
I ain't trying to get that high. I just wonder if anyone has used it for seasoning on a steak or something.
Thanks so much. I've wondered always wondered what the name of this plant was.
sticky clover has a square stem also..
There is so much to learn. I know book learning is very important. Are there any books you’d recommend?
I live in the Pacific Northwest, and that's everywhere around me and in my yard.
Fantastic video🏆🏆🏆 I took plenty of screenshots to help me choose wisely👍🏾
Thank-you! I just found a lot of this growing out in the area where my quail cage is. I had a run in over a decade ago with stinging nettle that found its way into my yard when I had manure dropped from a farm in town. Holy moly!! I had no idea of stinging nettle. I'd never heard of it. My legs were on fire for a good week. It was like someone had scrubbed insulation fibers into my legs. When I saw this growing around the area of the quail cage, I didn't want to end up in a bad way again! This video couldn't have been posted at a better time! I was a little unsure when I bent down and examined the plants, because under the flowers, on the stems, are soft spikes. So, I was terrified I was going to have a problem out there! Thanks so much for a great video. Now, I want to try some in a salad!
Excellent description and visuals. We have this on our acreage, so happy to know it is edible. Thank you so much. Your a great teacher.
I'll have been in my apt for a year this upcoming June. As I experience my first Spring Season here, I'm seeing my first 4×4 section of outdoor space coming up PDN . I was delighted to see that, and as a medicine maker I'm looking forward to harvesting some for tea, and maybe even add some to a salad. ! Thank you for being extremely thorough, although I feel that if you're going to mention its medicinal capabilities that maybe you could elaborate and include a few remedies these plants would be good for!
hmm what other co.mon names does it have?
Have you done a video on Miner's Lettuce. I'm trying to definitively identify in the Easter Sierras. I've encountered a bunch of look alikes, but not a plant that I believe is a match. The best match (to videos and books) I have found so far has been at Home Depot. It was some plant from South America that looks like a giant version.
Great video but now I'm even more confused. I'm going to have to go out when the sun's up and check my yard because I have something I feel is almost the same I thought it was called bee balm. First thing I'm going to check this morning thank you so much
Now I don't have to grab my ID guide. Have one or the other in my garden, but off the top of my head, not sure what the leaves look like. I'll check it out in the morning.
I love Henbit and Dead Nettle! I let them bloom out before I think of mowing. Also, the wild Violets, I let bloom out. I had no idea Dead Nettle is a wild edible!!! I shall try it in a salad this Spring. Thanks and I love your Channel content.
Wow! This video has so much info. Thank you for sharing!
This stuff grows all over Arkansas. The bees love it 😁❤
just found your channel. i love your content. new sub ♡. sw IN here.
What I like best about it is that I can let it run rampant throughout my yard in the early spring and it magically disappears just as the grass is full and lush. I did not know until last week that it was edible! Live and learn, as you learn to live better 🙂
Hello, do you know what wild greens I am seeing in my yard, they are purple in color and look very similar to wild field mustard or micro turnip greens.. but it is purple and the leaves lay flat close to the ground
Thanks! 😉 👍