Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum)

Edibility:Edible

Eating notes: The leaves can be eaten in salads, or cooked as a spinach.

The Red dead-nettle is common throughout Britain on cultivated and disturbed ground.

Height: 25-40cm

Leaves: Heart-shapes with a sharply toothed edge. Grow in opposite pairs. Younger leaves towards the top of the plant have a reddish-tint.

Flowers: Red/pink orchid-like flowers in rings above the leaf pairs.

Stems: Single unbranched stem. Angular and hairy.

Look-a-likes: Similar to stinging nettles and the other varieties of dead nettles. The flowers are the main distinguishing feature. The Henbit Dead-nettle has similar flowers, but flowers from the top of the plant as well as above the leaf pairs.