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Lamium album - L.
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| Common Name
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White Dead Nettle
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| Family
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Labiatae
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| Synonyms
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| Known Hazards
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None known
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| Habitats
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Fields, hedgerows, woodland edges and clearings and moist waste ground[7, 9, 17].
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| Range
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Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, the Himalayas and Japan.
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Edibility Rating 
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| Medicinal Rating
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| | Care
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| Physical Characteristics
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PERENNIAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in).
It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to December, and the seeds ripen from Jul to December. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.It is noted for attracting wildlife.
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 semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.It requires moist soil.
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| Habitats
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Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Ground Cover; Meadow; Hedgerow;
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| Edible Uses
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Edible Parts: Leaves.
Young leaves - raw or cooked[2, 5, 7, 13, 54]. They can be added to salads or mixed with other leaves and cooked as a potherb[183]. They can also be dried for later use[12]. The leaves are a good source of vitamin A[240].
A pleasant herb tea is made from the flowers[238].
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| Medicinal Uses
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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; Cancer; Cholagogue; Depurative; Diuretic; Expectorant; Homeopathy; Hypnotic; Ophthalmic; Pectoral;
Resolvent; Sedative; Styptic; Tonic; Vasoconstrictor; Vulnerary.
White dead nettle is an astringent and demulcent herb that is chiefly used as a uterine tonic, to arrest inter-menstrual bleeding and to reduce excessive menstrual flow. It is a traditional treatment for abnormal vaginal discharge and is sometimes taken to relieve painful periods[254].
The flowering tops are antispasmodic, astringent, cholagogue, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, haemostatic, hypnotic, pectoral, resolvent, sedative, styptic, tonic, vasoconstrictor and vulnerary[4, 7, 9, 13, 21, 46, 61, 165, 238, 240]. An infusion is used in the treatment of kidney and bladder complaints[9], diarrhoea, menstrual problems, bleeding after childbirth, vaginal discharges and prostatitis[238, 254]. Externally, the plant is made into compresses and applied to piles, varicose veins and vaginal discharges[7, 238, 254]. A distilled water from the flowers and leaves makes an excellent and effective eye lotion to relieve ophthalmic conditions[7]. The plant is harvested in the summer and can be dried for later use[9].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[9]. It is used in the treatment of bladder and kidney disorders and amenorrhoea[9].
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| Other Uses
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Ground cover.
The plant has a creeping rootstock and makes a good groundcover plant for woodland edges[24].
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| Cultivation details
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A very easily grown plant, it tolerates most soils and conditions[200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Prefers a sunny position, though it also does well in partial shade[238].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[187].
The white dead nettle is too weedy to be grown in the flower garden, but it does well in the wild garden and self-sows when well sited[200].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].
A good bee plant[4, 24] and a good companion plant, helping any vegetables growing nearby[14, 18].
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| Propagation
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Seed - this species usually self sows freely and should not require human intervention. When required it can be sown in situ as soon as it is ripe.
Division in spring. Division succeeds at almost any time in the growing season[K]. 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.
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| Botanical References
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| 17200
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| Links / References
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[K] Ken Fern Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
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| Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
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| [4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.
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| Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
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| [5]Mabey. R. Food for Free.
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| Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
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| [7]Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants.
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| Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
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| [9]Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants.
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| Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
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| [12]Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder.
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| A handy pocket guide.
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| [13]Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants.
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| Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
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| [14]Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs.
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| A good herbal.
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| [17]Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles.
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| A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
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| [18]Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants.
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| Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
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| [21]Lust. J. The Herb Book.
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| Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
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| [24]Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
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| Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.
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| [46]Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants.
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| An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
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| [54]Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds.
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| Interesting reading.
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| [61]Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.
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| Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
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| [165]Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
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| An excellent small herbal.
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| [183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
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| 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.
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| [187]Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2.
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| Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
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| [200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
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| Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
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| [233]Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
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| A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
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| [238]Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses.
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| A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
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| [240]Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement).
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| Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
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| [254]Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
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| An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
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