Yellow dead-nettle

Family Lamiaceae. Description: Occurs in Europe, the Caucasus, Asia Minor and Iran.

A typical woodland species, it grows in broad-leaved and mixed coniferous-broadleaved forests, and in shrubbery.

Perennial herbaceous plant with long prostrate shoots that root at the nodes and erect flowering stems up to 30 cm high. The stems, as they spread, eventually form a continuous carpet. The leaves are on petioles with a cordate base, ovate, with toothed or serrately toothed margins, often with a marbled pattern on the upper surface. Flowers are collected in whorls of 6 in the axils of the upper leaves. The corollas are yellow, two-lipped, up to 3 cm long. It blooms in early May for about 2 weeks. Secondary flowering is fairly often observed in August–September. It overwinters with green leaves.

Valued mainly as a fast-spreading groundcover ornamental foliage plant. The plant can spread 50–100 cm per year. Therefore it should be planted in places where it is necessary to quickly cover a large area with a decorative carpet.