Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate woodland
Range: Eurasia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Runners
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

A creeping perennial herb in the mint family, ground ivy spreads by sending out long trailing stems that root at their nodes — a single plant can carpet several square metres of ground. Its small violet-blue flowers and scalloped, kidney-shaped leaves release a distinctive minty-musky scent when crushed.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Glechoma
Species: Glechoma hederacea