Lamiaceae . . . . . . Dead-nettle family

Characteristic square stems, opposite lvs and zygomorphic fls; many spp. are widely grown as scented garden or medicinal herbs; genera not shown here include: Lavandula, Melittis, Phlomis, Satureja

Select by flower colour:


Lamiaceae with Blue to Mauve to Purple flowers:

Lesser Skullcap
Skullcap
Bugle
Wild Clary

Self-heal
Rosemary
Ground-ivy
Water Mint

Lesser Calamint
Hyssop

Note that flower shape is somewhat similar in : Orobanchaceae

          

Lamiaceae with Red-Pink flowers:

Thyme
Betony
Hedge Woundwort
Marsh Woundwort

Limestone Woundwort
Field Woundwort
Marjoram
Catmint

Red Dead-nettle
Henbit Dead-nettle
Spotted Dead-nettle
Bifid Hemp-nettle

Black Horehound
Water Mint
Wild Basil
Calamint

Lesser calamint
Wall Germander
Lesser Scullcap
Motherwort

Winter Savory
Lamb's-ear

Note that flower shape is somewhat similar in : Orobanchaceae

          

Lamiaceae with Yellow flowers:

Ground-pine
Yellow Archangel
Large-flowered Hemp-nettle
Hemp-nettle
Wood Sage
Turkish Sage
Jerusalem Sage

Note that flower shape is somewhat similar in : Orobanchaceae

          

Lamiaceae - White flowers:

White Dead-nettle
Lemon Balm
Gipsywort
Hemp-nettles
Spear Mint
White Horehound
White Red-dead-nettle

Note that flower shape is somewhat similar in : Orobanchaceae

          


Ajuga . . . . . Bugles

Ajuga chamepitys . . . . Ground-pine

Rare in S En

Ajuga reptans . . . . Bugle

Common throughout BI

Also the rare A. pyramidalis (Pyramidal Bugle) with stems hairy on all 4 sides and lvs pubescent; very local in NW Sc and W Ire

Ballota . . . . . Horehound

Ballota nigra . . . . Black Horehound

Widespread in S & C Br to Edinburgh and Liverpool - uncommon elsewhere

Betonica officinalis . . . . . Betony

Betonica . . . . Betony

Widespread in En & Wa, rare elsewhere

Clinopodium . . . . . Calamints/Wild Basil

Clinopodium acinos . . . . Basil-thyme

Local on calcareous grassland esp. in S Br, has <7 fls per node


Clinopodium ascendens . . . . Common Calamint

Local on dry calcareous grassland esp. in S Br and S Ire; calyx teeth >2mm


Clinopodium ascendens . . . . Common Calamint

Local on dry calcareous grassland esp. in S Br and S Ire; calyx teeth >2mm

Clinopodium vulgare . . . . Wild Basil

Frequent in Br in hedgerows and scrub on alkaline soils

Galeopsis . . . . . Hemp-nettles

Galeopsis bifida . . . . Hemp-nettle

Distinguished by divided lower petal; mainly in S & C Br to C Sc

Galeopsis speciosa . . . . Large-flowered Hemp-nettle

Note that flower c.2x length of calyx (cf. G tetrahit which is <1.5x); local in N Br

Galeopsis tetrahit . . . . Hemp-nettle

Note that flower usually <1.5x length of calyx (cf. G speciosa which is c.2x); mainly in S & C Br to C Sc

Red hempnettle (G. angustifolia) is narrow lvd and scattered mostly in EN and E Ire

Glechoma . . . . . Ground-ivy

Glechoma hederacea . . . . Ground-ivy

Throughout BI, esp. in S

Possibly confused with: Cornish Moneywort

Hyssopus . . . . . Hyssop

Hyssopus officinalis . . . . Hyssop

Grown in gardens and casual

Lamiastrum . . . . . Yellow Archngel

Lamiastrum galeobdolon . . . . Yellow Archangel

The subsp. argentatum white white-blotched lvs is spreading rapidly from gardens

Lamium . . . . . Dead-nettles

Choose from:


Note that Ballota, Galeopsis, Lamiastrum, Melissa and Stachys all have spp. with similar lvs

Lamium album . . . . White Dead-nettle

Common exc. N & W Sc

Lamium amplexicaule . . . . Henbit Dead-nettle

Over all the BI, commonest in the E

Lamium confertum . . . . Northern Dead-nettle

Upper lvs, sessile, lower petiolate (evenly divided), calyx (>8 mm) with long teeth; mostly near coast in the N half of Scotland, Man and occasional in Ire

Lamium hybridum . . . . Cut-leaved Dead-nettle

Reasonably frequent in the lowlands as a garden weed; possibly just a subsp. of L. purpureum

Similar, but larger, is Northern Dead-nettle (L. confertum)

Lamium maculatum . . . . Spotted Dead-nettle

Widely naturalised

Lamium purpureum . . . . Red Dead-nettle

Common

Also occurs as white form:

Leonurus . . . . . Motherwort

Leonurus cardiaca . . . . Motherwort

Sparsely scattered in Br - grown in medicinal gardens

Lycopus . . . . . Gipsywort

Lycopus europaeus . . . . . Gipsywort

Common in wet places, especially in S

Marrubium . . . . . White Horehound

Marrubium vulgare . . . . White Horehound

Sparsely scattered in BI, often escape from herb gardens

Melissa . . . . . Balm

Melissa officinalis . . . . Lemon-scented and widely planted

Mentha . . . . . Mints

Choose from the varieties below:

Mentha aquatica
Mentha spicata
Mentha suaveolens
Mentha x villosa


Mentha arvensis
Mentha requienii
Mentha aquatica on L.
Mentha x. villosa on R
. . .
Mentha pulegium
M. x verticillata

Note these are just representative of the many spp. and hybrids that occur

Mentha aquatica . . . . Water Mint

Common in wet places, terminal roundish heads

Mentha arvensis . . . . Corn Mint

Frequent in damp roadsides, etc.

M. pulegium (Pennyroyal) is similar, but has hairs inside calyx - use lens.

Mentha pulegium . . . . Pennyroyal

Local, esp. in S near the sea, sometimes from grass seed; smaller than M. arvensis with hairs inside calyx.

Mentha requienii . . . . Corsican Mint

A garden escape of cultivated ground, tracks, etc.

Mentha spicata . . . . Spear Mint


Mentha suaveolens . . . . Round-leaved Mint


Mentha x verticillata . . . . Whorled Mint

Common; a cross between M. aquatica & M. arvensis without the dense terminal head of the former

Mentha x villosa . . . . Apple Mint

A cross between M. spicata & M. suaveolens

- Note comparison of M. aquatica on Left and M. x villosa on Right:

Nepeta . . . . . Catmints

Nepeta x faasenii . . . . Garden Catmint

Common garden escapes, rather variable with spp. not very distinct. This one tends to have grey-ish lvs

N. racemosa (Eastern Catmint) is similar but with cordate lvs; in N. cataria fls are white with purple spots, scattered esp. in En and Wa

Oreganum . . . . . Marjoram

Origanum vulgare . . . . Marjoram

On dry calcareous soils exc. N Sc

Phlomis . . . . . Sages

Phlomis russeliana . . . . Turkish Sage

A herb with basal lvs cordate and wintergreen, naturalised by roads and rough ground esp. En & Wa

Phlomis fruticosa . . . . Jerusalem Sage

Evergreen shrub, persistent as a throw-out garden plant

Prunella . . . . . Self-heal

Prunella vulgaris . . . . Self-heal


Rosmarinus . . . . . Rosemary

Rosmarinus officinalis . . . . Rosemary

Widely grown but naturalised plants scattered from CI N to C Sc

Salvia . . . . . Claries

Salvia verbenacea . . . . Wild Clary

Local in SE and CI

S. pratensis (Meadow Clary) is similar with many glandular hairs on flowers; a local native in S En; many other Salvia spp. are grown in gardens and often escape

Satureja . . . . . Winter Savory

Satureja montana . . . . Winter Savory

A garden plant sometimes established on walls

Scutellaria . . . . . Skullcaps

Scutellaria galericulata . . . . Skullcap


Scutellaria minor . . . . Lesser Skullcap

Rather local in SW Br and SW Ire

Stachys . . . . . Woundworts

Select from the following spp.:

Other spp. include the very woolly Lamb's-ear (Stachys byzantina) which is a frequent survivor from gardens

Stachys alpina . . . . Limestone Woundwort

Very rare, at only two sites in the Welsh borders (photos CG Jones)

Stachys arvensis . . . . Field Woundwort

Common and widespread (exc. in N & W Ire and Sc) as an arable weed

Stachys byzantina . . . . Lamb's-ear

Very woolly-white lvs; frequent survivor from gardens

Stachys palustris . . . . Marsh Woundwort

Common in damp places across the BI; lvs narrow, sessile

Stachys sylvatica . . . . Hedge Woundwort

Common in shady woodland and part shade; lvs broader, stalked, cordate

Teucrium . . . . . Germanders

Teucrium chamaedrys . . . . Wall Germander

Shrubby - rare in the wild but grown in gardens

Teucrium scorodonia . . . . Wood Sage


Other rare spp. are T. botrys (Cut-lvd Germander) with v. divided lvs and T. scordium (Water germander)

Thymus . . . . . Thyme

Thymus drucei (was T. polytrichus). . . . Wild Thyme

Common throughout BI

Other spp. include T. pulegioides (Large Thyme) with larger heads of fls on coarse turf esp. in S & E En, and T. vulgaris (Garden Thyme) with lvs with rolled edges