Lamium purpureum

The red deadnettle, purple deadnettle, purple archangel, or velikdenche (Lamium purpureum) is a herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe and Asia.

It grows to 5–20 cm (rarely 30 cm) in height. The leaves have fine hairs, are green at the bottom and shade to purplish at the top; they are 2–4 cm long and broad, with a 1–2 cm petiole (leaf stalk), and wavy to serrated margins.


The zygomorphic flowers are bright red-purple, with a top hood-like petal, two lower lip petal lobes and minute fang-like lobes between.They may be produced throughout the year, including mild weather in winter. This allows bees to gather its nectar for food when few other nectar sources are available. It is also a prominent source of pollen for bees in March/April (in UK), when bees need the pollen as protein to build up their nest.
It is often found alongside Henbit Deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule), which is easily mistaken for it since they both have similar looking leaves and similar bright purple flowers; they can be distinguished by the stalked leaves of Red Deadnettle on the flower stem, compared to the unstalked leaves of Henbit Deadnettle.

Flower: Corolla irregular (zygomorphic), (purplish) red (rarely white), 10–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in.) long, fused, bilabiate, long-tubed. Upper lip convex, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in.) long; lower lip approx. 2 mm (0.08 in.) long, lateral lobes very small or absent, central lobe obcordate. Calyx almost regular (actinomorphic), 5-veined, 5-lobed, lobes roughly same length as calyx-tube, branching after flowering. Stamens 4, of which 2 long and 2 short. Pistil a fused carpel, stigma 2-lobed. Inflorescence composed of spike-like, often conical, dense, spike-like, axillary whorls.

Leaves: Opposite (decussate), stalked, stalk wingless. Blade triangularly ovate, with cordate–flat base, net-veined, smooth-haired, evenly shallowly large-toothed. Upper leaves often reddish. Subtending bracts like stem leaves.
Fruit: 4-parted schizocarp. Mericarps slightly bristly, brown.
Habitat: Gardens, soil heaps, rubbish tips, pastures, arable land, wasteland.
Flowering time: May–October.