Plant Name
Scientific Name: Lamium amplexicaule
Common Names: Henbit Deadnettle, Clasping Henbit
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual, Biennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized weed is native to Europe.
Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain, Riparian. This weedy wildflower grows in washes, along stream beds, in drainage ditches, at the edge of lawns, and in other moist areas where it gets a little extra water.
Flower Color: Pink, Pinkish violet
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer
Height: To 20 inches (51 cm) tall
Description: The flowers emerge from bowl-like, overlapping, sessile, leafy bracts and are in whorls around the stems at the leaf axils. The individual flowers are long, tubular, hairy, held upright, and have an upper hood and a spotted lower lip. The leaves are green, hairy, rounded in shape, deeply veined, and have crenate (scalloped) margins. The upper leaves are sessile and clasp the stems. The lower leaves are petiolate. The stems are square.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae – Mint family
Genus: Lamium L. – deadnettle
Species: Lamium amplexicaule L. – henbit deadnettle
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