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Lamium is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, of which it is the type genus. The plants are all herbaceous and native to Eurasia and northern Africa, with several widely naturalised across much of the temperate world. The genus includes both annual and perennial species.

The plants have square stems and coarsely textured pairs of leaves, often with striking patterns or variegation. They produce double-lipped flowers in a wide range of colours. The common name dead-nettle refers to the resemblance of white dead-nettle to the very distantly related stinging nettles, but unlike those, dead-nettles do not have stinging hairs. The name Lamium comes from the Greek laimos, which means "gullet", a reference to the gaping throat-like appearance of the corolla.

Chemistry

The essential oils of the genus Lamium are characterized by a high content of germacrene D. The oil from fresh flowers of white dead-nettle is dominated by aldehydes (59.9%) and sesquiterpenes (16.4%). Geranial (36.4%), neral (23.2%) and caryophyllene oxide (12.5%) make up the largest share of that oil. In the oil from dried flowers, a branched-chain alkane (21.9%) and germacrene D (21.2%) are among the dominant compounds.

White dead-nettle also contains the iridoid glycosides lamalbid, alboside A and B, and caryoptoside. The seed oil of red dead-nettle contains 16% of an acid characterized as (-)-octadeca-5,6-trans-16-trienoic acid, trivially named lamenallenic acid.

Ecology and cultivation

Bumblebees are especially attracted to the flowers of white dead-nettle, which are a good source of early nectar and pollen. Lamium species are widely cultivated as groundcover, and numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use. They are frost hardy and grow well in most soils. The young shoots and leaves of white dead-nettle can be cooked as a vegetable.

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