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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Dead Nettle

This is one of the first things to bloom in the spring.  It stays low to the ground and the cooler it is the darker the tops. 

It perseveres through the inconsistencies of early spring. I love the color.

The Latin is Lamium purpureum. Here's the wiki.

It's called dead nettle because it isn't a stinging nettle.   They're not even in the same family. Apparently it looks sort of nettle-ish and that's why it's called dead nettle.  

Turns out that it produces some nectar and good pollen so it's a good source of early pollen for the bees.   The pollen is red.  [I'll be on the lookout to get a pic or two of it!]