Glechoma hederacea

Fibrous-rooted perennial from slender stolons or superficial rhizomes, the stems lax, 1-4 dm, retrorsely scabrous (or hirsute) to subglabrous, pilose at the nodes; lvs all about alike, petiolate, the blade glabrous or hirsute, rotund-cordate to cordate-reniform, strongly crenate, 1-3 cm; fls short-pedicellate; cal narrow, 5-6 mm, hirtellous-scabrous, the upper teeth the longer; cor blue-violet, purple-maculate, 13-23 mm, or in pistillate plants only 8-15 mm, the anthers then minute and included in the cor-tube; 2n=18, 36. Moist woods and various disturbed habitats; native of Eurasia, now found throughout our range. Apr.-June. (Nepeta h.)

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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General: Introduced perennial, with a creeping habit; stems lax, 10-40 cm long, scabrous, with downward-pointing hairs to nearly glabrous, commonly pilose at the nodes; stoloniferous and rhizomatous; aromatic scent noticeable when plant is stepped on or mown. Leaves: Cauline, opposite, simple, rounded-cordate to kidney- shaped, 1-3 cm long, glabrous or hirsute, margins strongly crenate; petioles shorter to longer than the length of the blade. Flowers: Inflorescence a dense verticil, appearing spike-like, the lowest whorl of flowers often interrupted; flowers subtended by spine-tipped leafy bracts; calyx 9-15 mm long, the tube about equaling the spine-tipped teeth, hirsute to nearly glabrous; corolla scarcely surpassing the calyx, blue to purplish pink; stamens nearly equaling the upper lip of the corolla; stamens 4; flowers April- October. Fruits: Nutlets 4. Ecology: Moist woods, thickets, disturbed sites, lawns; 2100 m (7000 ft); Coconino County; widely distributed throughout North America. Notes: Native of Eurasia and escaped from cultivation. This plant tends to be quite weedy. Editor: Springer et al. 2008