Family:
Lamiaceae Martinov
Genus:
Lamium L.

Lamium maculatum (L.) L.

Lamium maculatum is a very variable species in the wild, where leaf size and shape, petiole (leaf stalk) length, hairiness and flower colour can be quite different even in the same population. The spotted leaves of this plant give it both its common and Latin names (maculatum = spotted, stained). In the wild the white leaf markings are more likely to be present during the winter. The leaf markings make spotted dead-nettle attractive to gardeners. There are now numerous cultivars with leaves much more decorative than those of their wild relatives, for example Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver' and L. maculatum 'Roseum'.

[FTEA]

Lamiaceae (Labiatae), A.J. Paton, G. Bramley, O. Ryding, R.M. Polhill, Y.B. Harvey, M. Iwarsson, F. Willis, P.B. Phillipson, K. Balkwill, C.W. Lukhoba, D.F. Otieno, & R.M. Harley. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2009

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb grown as ground cover
Morphology Leaves
Leaves ovate to kidney-shaped, 10–90 × 10–70 mm, irregularly scalloped, usually with a white or pale central marking
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence lax with well-spaced several-flowered verticils
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 8–15 mm long, tubular-campanulate with 5 equal teeth
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla pink, purple or white, 20–35 mm long, tube curved and with a hooded posterior lip
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 4 ascending under posterior lip.
Note
No specimens seen. A native of Europe to China

[KSP]

Kew Species Profiles

General Description
The leaf markings of the spotted dead-nettle make it an attractive and popular choice for gardeners, and with its large purple flowers easily distinguish it from the common stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica).

Lamium maculatum is a very variable species in the wild, where leaf size and shape, petiole (leaf stalk) length, hairiness and flower colour can be quite different even in the same population. The spotted leaves of this plant give it both its common and Latin names (maculatum = spotted, stained). In the wild the white leaf markings are more likely to be present during the winter. The leaf markings make spotted dead-nettle attractive to gardeners. There are now numerous cultivars with leaves much more decorative than those of their wild relatives, for example Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver' and L. maculatum 'Roseum'.

Species Profile
Geography and distribution

Europe to China; introduced in Great Britain and New Zealand; found growing as a garden escape in Canada and the USA. Spotted dead-nettle has been found up to 2,000 m above sea level.

Description

Overview: Spotted dead-nettle is a perennial herb with creeping stems (but with distal parts upright), and is mostly hairy.

Leaves: The leaves have petioles (leaf stalks) that are shorter than the blades. The leaf blades are heart-shaped to ovate or ovate-oblong, and the margins are usually coarsely scalloped to toothed; the upper and lower surfaces are hairy, the upper surface often with a white band and a few blotches either side, especially in winter.

Flowers: The calyx is tubular, with five narrowly triangular teeth. The corolla is purple, rarely white with dark purple markings. The upper lip is arched, and the lower lip is about as long as the upper lip and at right angles to it. The stamens (male parts) are held in the upper lip and bear orange pollen.

Fruits: The fruit comprises four brown nutlets (one-seeded sections, or mericarps, of the fruit).

Uses

Spotted dead-nettle makes an attractive addition to herbaceous borders or woodland gardens, and is a useful ground cover species.

This species at Kew

Spotted dead-nettle can be seen growing in the Queen's Garden, adjacent to Kew Palace and in the Plant Family Beds at Kew.

Pressed and dried specimens of Lamium maculatum are held in the Herbarium at Kew, where they are made available by appointment to researchers from around the world. The details, including an image, of one of these specimens can be seen online in the Herbarium Catalogue.

Ecology
Mixed and deciduous forests, in thickets and hedges, roadsides, banks of streams, rocky places and walls, mountain pastures and fields; grows best in calcareous soil and shade.
Conservation
Widespread and not of conservation concern.
Hazards

None known.

[KSP]
Use
Ornamental.

Native to:

Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Rus, China North-Central, Czechoslovakia, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Netherlands, North Caucasus, North European Russi, Northwest European R, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, South European Russi, Spain, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Ukraine, Xinjiang, Yugoslavia

Introduced into:

Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Newfoundland, Vermont, Wisconsin

English
Spotted dead-nettle

Lamium maculatum (L.) L. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Nov 1, 1981 Kotschy, C.G.T. [231], Romania K000928103 Yes
Brummit, R.K. [6], Spain K000509225 Yes
Cope, T.A. [RBG 309], United Kingdom K000914336 Yes

First published in Sp. Pl. ed. 2: 809 (1763)

Accepted by

  • Ackerfield, J. (2015). Flora of Colorado: 1-818. BRIT Press.
  • Castroviejo, S. & al. (eds.) (2010). Flora Iberica 12: 1-650. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Madrid.
  • Chilton, L. (2010). Plant list for Lesvos, slightly revised 1998-2009: 1-36. Marengo, Hunstanton, England.
  • Gilman, A.V. (2015). New flora of Vermont. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 110: 1-614.
  • Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Kravchenko, A.V., Timofeeva, V.V., Rudkocskaya, O.A. & Fadeeva, M.A. (2008). Vascular plant species new and rare to Karelia. Botanicheskii Zhurnal. Moscow & Leningrad 93: 776-788.
  • Mirek, Z., Piękoś-Mirkowa, H., Zając, A. & Zając, M (2020). Vascular plants of Poland an annotated checklist: 1-526. W. Szafer institute of botany, Polish academy of sciences, Krakow, Poland.
  • Mohlenbrock, R.H. (2014). Vascular Flora of Illinois. A Field Guide, ed. 4: 1-536. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.
  • Werier, D. (2017). Catalogue of the Vascular plants of New York state. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 27: 1-542. New York Botanical Garden.

Literature

Kew Species Profiles

  • Huxley, A., Griffiths, M. & Levy, M. (eds) (1992). The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. Vol. 3 (L to Q): 12. Macmillan Press, London.
  • Mennema, J. (1989). A Taxonomic Revision of Lamium (Lamiaceae) (Leiden Botanical Series, Volume 11). E.J. Brill, Leiden.

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Ackerfield, J. (2015). Flora of Colorado: 1-818. BRIT Press.
  • Chadde, S.W. (2019). Minnesota Flora. An illustrated guide to the vascular plants of Minnesota ed. 2: 1-776. Steve W. Chadde.
  • Chadde, S.W. (2019). Wisconsin Flora ed. 2: 1-818. Steve W. Chadde.
  • Chilton, L. (2010). Plant list for Lesvos, slightly revised 1998-2009: 1-36. Marengo, Hunstanton, England.
  • Danin, A. & Fragman- Sapir, O. (2019). Flora of Israel Online http://flora.org.il/en/plants/.
  • Gilman, A.V. (2015). New flora of Vermont. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 110: 1-614.
  • Meades, S.J. & Brouillet, L. (2019). Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Newfoundland and Labrador https://www.newfoundland-labradorflora.com/checklist/.
  • Mohlenbrock, R.H. (2014). Vascular Flora of Illinois. A Field Guide, ed. 4: 1-536. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.
  • Werier, D. (2017). Catalogue of the Vascular plants of New York state. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 27: 1-542. New York Botanical Garden.

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • K.H.S., Gard. E. Afr.: 135 (1995)

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    Copyright applied to individual images

  • Kew Species Profiles

    Kew Species Profiles
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0