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Common Name: White Dead Nettle

General Information

Lamium album is a perennial plant that can grow up to 0.60 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, the Himalayas and Japan.

Habitat

Fields, hedgerows, woodland edges and clearings and moist waste ground[, , ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.60 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A very easily grown plant, it tolerates most soils and conditions[]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Prefers a sunny position, though it also does well in partial shade[].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[].
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[].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[].
A good bee plant[, ] and a good companion plant, helping any vegetables growing nearby[, ].

Edible Uses

Young leaves - raw or cooked[, , , , ]. They can be added to salads or mixed with other leaves and cooked as a potherb[]. They can also be dried for later use[]. The leaves are a good source of vitamin A[].
A pleasant herb tea is made from the flowers[].

Medicinal

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[].
The flowering tops are antispasmodic, astringent, cholagogue, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, haemostatic, hypnotic, pectoral, resolvent, sedative, styptic, tonic, vasoconstrictor and vulnerary[, , , , , , , , , ]. An infusion is used in the treatment of kidney and bladder complaints[], diarrhoea, menstrual problems, bleeding after childbirth, vaginal discharges and prostatitis[, ]. Externally, the plant is made into compresses and applied to piles, varicose veins and vaginal discharges[, , ]. A distilled water from the flowers and leaves makes an excellent and effective eye lotion to relieve ophthalmic conditions[]. The plant is harvested in the summer and can be dried for later use[].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[]. It is used in the treatment of bladder and kidney disorders and amenorrhoea[].

Other Uses

The plant has a creeping rootstock and makes a good groundcover plant for woodland edges[].

Propagation

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[]. 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.