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Common Name: Henbit

Other Names: Henbit Deadnettle

Species Name: Lamium amplexicaule L.

Plant Type: Broadleafs/Herbaceous

Family Name: Lamiaceae

 

 

 

 

Plant Facts  
Origin Introduced, Europe
Duration Annual or biennial
Season Cool
Distribution in the U.S. United States; scattered in the Great Plains (NE, SD, ND, KS, OK, TX, IA, MO, AB, SK, MB)
Distribution in Oklahoma Throughout the state

 

 

ID Characteristics

  • Field Identification Characteristics
    • Flowers: Purple to pink corolla, tubular (1-2 centimeters long) lobes 2, upper lobe one third as long as the tube; calyx tubular (5-7.5 millimeters long), teeth 5, densely pubescent.
    • Inflorescence: Verticillasters, flowers 3-6 per cymule; bracts sessile, clasping, usually wider than long.
  • Leaf and Stem Characteristics
    • Leaf Type: Simple
    • Leaf Arrangement: Opposite
    • Leaf Shape: Oribicular to broadly ovate (5-18 millimeters long, usually as wide as long) margine crenate and lobed, surfaces variously pubescent, venation palmate; lower bloades petiolate, upper blades sessile and clasping; often purplish in color
    • Stems: Decumbent with ascending branches, 4-angled, branches frequently rooting at the nodes, often purple-streaked.
  • Floral Characteristics
    • Petal Number: 4
    • Flower Color: Purple to pink
    • Flower Timing: March-May
    • Fruit Type: Schizocarp of 4 nutlets; nutlets obovate-oblong (1.5-2.5 millimeters long), 3-angled, tip blunt, tan to grayish-brown or olive green; seeds 1 per nutlet

 

 

Habitat/Ecology  
Soil Type Prefers moist fertile soil but is adapted to dry areas
Habitat In lawns, gardens, waste places, roadsides and cultivated fields
Successional Stage  

 

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