Purple deadnettle

Lamium purpureum (Lamiaceae) is a winter annual (sometimes summer annual) native to Europe and Asia. It develops quickly in cool weather, producing square stems with opposite, heart-shaped leaves that are tinged purple near the tops. Small tubular purple flowers appear over a remarkably long season, from fall through spring and into summer. Despite its nettle-like foliage, it lacks stinging hairs (hence "dead-nettle").

Purple deadnettle colonizes disturbed ground in full sun to light shade, favoring moist, fertile soil but tolerating sandy or clay substrates. It is one of the earliest-blooming plants available to foraging bees, with flowering beginning at just 52 GDD (base 50 F). Though generally considered a weed and rarely planted intentionally, its value as winter and early-spring bee forage is significant. Growth is rapid and maintenance is minimal. It self-seeds freely.