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Useful Temperate Plants

Lamium galeobdolon

(L.)L.

Lamiaceae


The Temperate Database is in the process of being updated, with new records being added and old ones being checked and brought up to date where necessary. This record has not yet been checked and updated.

+ Synonyms

Common Name: Yellow Archangel

No Image.

General Information

Lamium galeobdolon is a perennial plant that can grow up to 0.30 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

17
Title
Flora of the British Isles.
Publication
 
Author
Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1962
ISBN
-
Description
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Range

Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to Spain and Iran.

Habitat

Woods and shady hedgerows[
5
Title
Food for Free.
Publication
 
Author
Mabey. R.
Publisher
Collins
Year
1974
ISBN
0-00-219060-5
Description
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
,
31
Title
Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
Publication
 
Author
Brown.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
 
], usually on heavier soils. Sometimes becoming locally dominant, especially after coppicing[
17
Title
Flora of the British Isles.
Publication
 
Author
Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1962
ISBN
-
Description
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *
HabitPerennial
Height0.30 m
Growth RateFast
PollinatorsBees
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

A very easily grown plant, it tolerates most soils and conditions[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. It grows well in heavy clay soils[
17
Title
Flora of the British Isles.
Publication
 
Author
Clapham, Tutin and Warburg.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1962
ISBN
-
Description
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
], though it prefers a light calcareous soil[
1
Title
RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Publication
 
Author
F. Chittendon.
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
1951
ISBN
-
Description
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
]. Dislikes dry soils[
31
Title
Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
Publication
 
Author
Brown.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
 
]. This species succeeds even in dense shade, growing well under trees[
31
Title
Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
Publication
 
Author
Brown.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
 
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Once established, it can also succeed in drought conditions under the shade of trees, providing there is plenty of humus in the soil[
190
Title
The Dry Garden.
Publication
 
Author
Chatto. B.
Publisher
Dent
Year
1982
ISBN
0460045512
Description
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.
].
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
Title
Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2.
Publication
 
Author
Phillips. R. & Rix. M.
Publisher
Pan Books
Year
1991
ISBN
0-330-30936-9
Description
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
]. L. galeobdolon argentatum is the more rampant form, its clone 'Variegatum' is a commonly used ground cover plant for shady places[
187
Title
Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2.
Publication
 
Author
Phillips. R. & Rix. M.
Publisher
Pan Books
Year
1991
ISBN
0-330-30936-9
Description
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[
233
Title
Perennial Garden Plants
Publication
 
Author
Thomas. G. S.
Publisher
J. M. Dent & Sons, London.
Year
1990
ISBN
0 460 86048 8
Description
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
].
A very invasive plant, sending out long prostrate shoots that root at intervals along the stems[
31
Title
Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
Publication
 
Author
Brown.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
 
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].

Edible Uses

Young leaves and shoots - cooked[
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
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.
].
Young flowering tips - cooked.

Medicinal

The herb is antispasmodic, astringent, diuretic, expectorant, styptic and vasoconstrictor[
4
Title
A Modern Herbal.
Publication
 
Author
Grieve.
Publisher
Penguin
Year
1984
ISBN
0-14-046-440-9
Description
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
].

Other Uses

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
Title
Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
Publication
 
Author
Brown.
Publisher
 
Year
 
ISBN
 
Description
 
,
197
Title
Ground Cover Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Royal Horticultural Society.
Publisher
Cassells.
Year
1989
ISBN
0-304-31089-1
Description
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. It does very well in woodlands[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

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.
Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Lamium+galeobdolon>

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