Stats

Lifespan: Annual
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Europe and Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A common annual weed of disturbed soils, purple deadnettle blooms as early as February and provides one of the first nectar sources for bees emerging in late winter. Its upper leaves flush deep red-purple, making the plant look almost entirely violet from a distance.

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.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Lamium
Species: Lamium purpureum