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Lamium galeobdolon - (L.)L.

Yellow Archangel

Author	(L.)L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Labiatae	Genus	Lamium
Synonyms	Galeobdolon luteum - Huds. Lamiastrum galeobdolon - (L.)Ehrend.&Polats.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to Spain and Iran.
Habitat	Woods and shady hedgerows[5, 31], usually on heavier soils. Sometimes becoming locally dominant, especially after coppicing[17].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	1 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m by 1m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Deep Shade; Ground Cover; Hedgerow;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves.

Young leaves and shoots - cooked[183]. Young flowering tips - cooked.

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antispasmodic; Astringent; Diuretic; Expectorant; Styptic; Vasoconstrictor.

The herb is antispasmodic, astringent, diuretic, expectorant, styptic and vasoconstrictor[4].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

A good ground cover plant, spreading rapidly by means of its rooting stems and succeeding even in dense shade. It is very vigorous, however, and can smother small plants[31, 197, 200]. It does very well in woodlands[K].

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, it tolerates most soils and conditions[200]. It grows well in heavy clay soils[17], though it prefers a light calcareous soil[1]. Dislikes dry soils[31]. This species succeeds even in dense shade, growing well under trees[31, 200]. Once established, it can also succeed in drought conditions under the shade of trees, providing there is plenty of humus in the soil[190]. There are at least four sub-species, L. galeobdolon montanum is the form generally found wild in Britain and it is a triploid. L. galeobdolon luteum and L. galeobdolon flavidum are both diploids[187]. L. galeobdolon argentatum is the more rampant form, its clone 'Variegatum' is a commonly used ground cover plant for shady places[187]. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233]. A very invasive plant, sending out long prostrate shoots that root at intervals along the stems[31, 200].

Propagation

Seed - usually self sows freely and should not require human intervention. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. The seed can also be sown in situ as soon as it is ripe. Division in spring. Succeeds at almost any time in the growing season. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Cultivars

There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland. 0

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

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