Common Name: White Dead Nettle

General Information

Lamium album is a herbaceous perennial plant that can spread widely by means of creeping rhizomes; it produces many erect stems that can grow around 50 - 100cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is sometimes grown as a ground cover plant in gardens. and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Eurasia - throughout the temperate regions from western Europe to Russian Far East, China, Japan and Korea

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	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Lamium album is hardy to about -25°c[].
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[].
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[].

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 antiinflammatory, astringent, demulcent, diuretic and expectorant 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[, ]. It is also used to treat leucorrhoea, cystitis, prostatitis, bleeding piles, diarrhoea, irritable bowel and respiratory catarrh[].

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 homoeopathic remedy, it has a special affinity for female and urinary organs[]. A remedy made from the plant is used in the treatment of bladder and kidney disorders and amenorrhoea[].

Agroforestry Uses:

A good bee plant[, ] and a good companion plant, helping any vegetables growing nearby[, ].
The plant has a creeping rootstock and makes a good groundcover plant for woodland edges[].

Other Uses

None known

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.