On Purple Dead Nettle
My new plant-love of this Spring season is the unassuming (and yet striking beautiful) Lamium purpureum, aka Purple Dead Nettle. This wild forageable is considered a “weed” in many yards and gardens and yet has great medicinal, edible, and magical properties. What more is there to love? I first noticed purple dead nettle after seeing it on a Youtube channel - it turns out, it was growing in my neighborhood all along and I had been oblivious! Purple Dead Nettles (Also sometimes called Purple Archangel) is found around the world. In warmer areas, it is a annual Winter weed that provides much needed ground cover - here in Southern New England it is a early Spring flower that blooms for about six weeks starting in mid April. It is highly distinguishable by its square stem (proving its membership to the mint family) and distinct red/purple leaves. It can grow up to 8-10 inches tall but generally prefers to stick close to the ground. It is a super food - all parts of the plant are edible though its leaves are fuzzy so it can be a strange experience to eat it on its own. It can be added to salads, used as an edible garnish, made into pesto, or added as a green to smoothies. It’s flavor is green and reminiscent of grass or clover. Medicinally, it is an astringent, diaphoretic, and purgative. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. It’s leaves can be made into a salve or applied directly for on-the-go wound care. Consumption slows the production of histamines so it has a claim to fame as a plant used to treat seasonal allergies. It can be dried and drunk as a tea but can have a laxative effect if consumed in quantity. It is also listed as unsafe for pregnant and breast feeding humans. On of the best quality of this wonder-plant, in my opinion, is that it is one of the earliest bee friendly flowers that blooms in the colder climates. Bees and other native pollinators seem to prefer Purple Dead Nettle to other plants. Yet another reason not the mow this lovely plant down and let it thrive!
Magically it is associated with happiness and cheerfulness and considered useful for grounding when combined with yarrow. Like all hearty plants that will grow “anywhere” it also has an association with strength and resiliency. For magical purposes, dead nettle is most often dried and turned into an incense blend or tea (see the above mentioned warning about drinking too much of it.) Last but not least, I wanted to share a fun fact. The Latin name for Purple Dead Nettle (lamium purpurium) means “diminutive purple monster” - a nickname given to the plant that spread out of control. Laugh all you want but be careful where you plant it if you don’t want a yard FULL of dead nettle. But for real - who wouldn’t want a yard full of dead nettle? Certainly not me... Like my work? Please consider supporting me by Buying Me of Ko-Fi.