Lamium montanum var. florentinum (Silva Tar.) Buttler & Schippm.
Lamium montanum (Pers.) Hoffm. ex Kabath
Lamium galeobdolon, the yellow archangel, is a
species of
flowering plant in the mint
familyLamiaceae. It is native to
Europe and western
Asia but it is widely introduced in North America and elsewhere. It is the only species in the genus Lamium with yellow flowers. Another common name for this species is golden dead-nettle. In New Zealand, it is called the aluminium plant or artillery plant. The common names archangel and dead-nettle have been in use for hundreds of years, dating back to at least the 16th century.
Lamium galeobdolon comprises four closely-related
subspecies, one of which, the variegated yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum) from central Europe,[3] is widely present as an
invasive subspecies in several European countries outside of its native range and also in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.[7]
Description
Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato is a perennial plant with square stems growing from 15 to 60 cm (6 to 24 in) tall. The paired
opposite leaves are stalked with toothed margins. The leaves are 4 to 7 cm (2 to 3 in) long, and may or may not have silvery markings (an important character used to distinguish subspecies). The inflorescence is a pseudowhorl of 4–16 flowers (called a
verticillaster) clustered around the axil of a leaf-pair. Each flower has bilateral (
zygomorphic) symmetry. The
calyx is five-lobed and the
corolla is yellow with a prominent hood. The flower's lower lip has three lobes with the central lobe often streaked with orange. There are two short
stamens and two long ones. Flowering is in late spring to early summer, typically May–June in Britain. A pair of fused
carpels give rise to a four-chambered
schizocarp.[8][9][10]
Identification
Subspecies of Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato are the only
taxa in the genus with yellow flowers. All of the subspecies are
stoloniferous except subsp. flavidum. The
invasive subsp. argentatum is readily distinguished by its silvery white
variegated leaves. Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon and subsp. montanum can be difficult to distinguish but assuming the plant in question is in full flower, subsp. galeobdolon has a maximum of six (rarely seven) flowers per verticillaster while subsp. montanum averages ten flowers per verticillaster.[11] The hairiness of the lower stems is also a useful clue, with subsp. galeobdolon having hairs on the four ridges only, while subsp. montanum is more uniformly hairy across the faces as well as the ridges.[8][12]
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. flavidum is notable for the lack of stolons, frequently branched fertile stems with upright flowering lateral shoots, and 10–16 small flowers per verticillaster.[9][13] An identification key for the remaining taxa follows Rosenbaumová, Plačková & Suda (2004)[14], Streeter et al. (2009),[8] and Walker & Mountford (2020):[12]
Identification Key Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato in central and western Europe
1a. Leaves and
bracts (except for the uppermost) with a distinct silvery pattern (two
flexuous bands along the midrib) persisting year around, bracts with wide apical teeth; flowers relatively large
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum
1b. Leaves generally without silvery pattern (if present, then never forming two continuous flexuous bands along the midrib); apical teeth of bracts mostly narrower; flowers relatively smaller
2
2a. The uppermost bracts
ovate, generally less than twice as long as wide, with more-or-less equally distributed marginal teeth, apical tooth short and obtuse, lowermost bracts narrower or only slightly wider than the uppermost ones; the uppermost leaves shortly
petiolate; verticillasters few-flowered (maximum number of flowers usually 4–7); hairs on the lower half of the stem almost entirely confined to the angles
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon
2b. The uppermost bracts
lanceolate, more than twice as long as wide, marginal teeth towards the apex more separated, apical tooth long and acute; lowermost bracts mostly distinctly wider than the uppermost ones; the uppermost leaves with longer petioles; maximum number of flowers in verticillasters generally (6–)10–14; hairs on the lower half of the stem more or less equal distribution on the faces and the angles
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. montanum
Other taxa in the group can have marked leaves but those of subsp. argentatum are distinctive:[15]
Permanent silvery pattern on leaf lamina in L. argentatum always forms two flexuous bands along the midrib, mostly not interrupted by the lateral veins. They are distinctive particularly from the late autumn to the early spring when a contrast brownish-maroon colouring develops on the abaxial side and extends to the midrib-zone of the upper leaf side. Although variegated leaves were frequently observed in all other taxa in our study, they never matched the description above. Silvery-grey markings constituted merely separate splashes or flecks (small-sized in L. montanum and L. flavidum, larger in L. galeobdolon), not merged into continuous bands. Thus, a combination of two distinct silvery flexuous bands together with a strong chocolate-maroon zone along the midrib in winter can be regarded as specific L. argentatum markers.
— Rosenbaumová, Plačková & Suda (2004)
In particular, a
cultivar (of subsp. flavidum - ? - [citation needed]) known as 'Herman's Pride' has silver-spotted leaves,[16] but even though the markings are unlike those of subsp. argentatum, the two taxa are sometimes confused.
The base
chromosome number of taxa in genus Lamium is x = 9.[17]Lamium galeobdolon subsp. flavidum and subsp. galeobdolon are
diploid (2n = 2x = 18) while subsp. argentatum and subsp. montanum are
tetraploid (2n = 4x = 36). A few
triploid individuals have been reported.[18] The triploids are thought to be natural hybrids between diploid subsp. galeobdolon and tetraploid subsp. argentatum.[19]
Taxonomy
Lamium galeobdolon was first described as Galeopsis galeobdolon by the Swedish botanist
Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[20] Linnaeus himself transferred it to the genus Lamium in 1759, and therefore the correct name in Lamium is Lamium galeobdolon(L.) L.[1][21]
Most authorities with a global scope accept four closely-related taxa, either as subspecies of Lamium galeobdolon,[2][22][23] or as full species in genus Lamium,[9] in which case the group of taxa is referred to as Lamium subgen. Galeobdolon.[24] Some authorities
segregate the species into other genera (either Galeobdolon or Lamiastrum) but genus Lamium remains
monophyletic in any case.[25]
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum was first described as Galeobdolon argentatum by the Czech botanist
Miroslav Smejkal in 1975.[26] In a comprehensive and influential treatment of genus Lamium published in 1989,[27] the Dutch botanist
Jacob Mennema reduced the species to forma and placed it in
synonymy with Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon. Hence subsp. argentatum was neglected for a long time and its invasion history is poorly documented.[28]
There are a number of closely related
taxa that
hybridise with L. galeobdolon and in some cases are not unequivocally accepted as distinct
species but considered
subspecies or
varieties by many authors.[citation needed] Most well known among these is variegated yellow archangel (subsp. argentatum), whose leaves often have
variegation, showing as silver patches arranged as a wide semicircle. This, and in particular its large-flowered and even stronger-marked
cultivar 'Variegatum', is the taxon most often met with as a garden escapee.
Distribution
Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato is native across Europe, western Asia, and portions of the
Middle East. It ranges from
Ireland and
Spain east across Europe as far as the
West Siberian Plain and southeast to
Iran.[2]Lamium galeobdolon subsp. flavidum is native to the Alps, northern Italy, and the mountain ranges northeast of the
Adriatic Sea. L. galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon and subsp. montanum have broadly similar distributions, but subsp. montanum extends further west and south than subsp. galeobdolon, which has a more northeast distribution.[13][29][12] Within
Britain and
Ireland, subsp. montanum is a widespread native across England and Wales and locally in southern Scotland and eastern Ireland,[29] while nominate subsp. galeobdolon is restricted to a small area in
Lincolnshire in eastern England.[12]
Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato is widely introduced in outside of its native areas in Europe, and also in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States,[2][30] but authorities disagree about the distribution of introduced subspecies. As of April 2024[update],
Plants of the World Online (POWO) claims that Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum has been introduced in Great Britain and Ireland (in agreement with BSBI data[31]) and Italy,[3] but since subsp. argentatum is reported to be introduced in the Netherlands and Switzerland,[32][33] the list is incomplete. POWO also claims that Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon has been introduced in Madeira, New Zealand (both
North Island and
South Island), and the United States,[5] but
iNaturalist data show subsp. argentatum as much the most widespread subspecies in all these areas (click on the 'Map' tag for each of the subspecies).[34] However, authoritative sources based in North America implicitly refer to Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato,[35][36][37][30][38] so POWO's claim is unsubstantiated. The list of
U.S. states where Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato is said to occur varies dramatically depending on the source.
Ecology
Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato has been widely introduced as a garden plant (often under the name Lamiastrum galeobdolon), especially in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States where it has escaped cultivation and become an
invasive species. In New Zealand, it is listed by the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord and therefore banned from sale, propagation, and distribution throughout the country.[39][40][41] It is also listed by the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia in Canada.[42] In the U.S. state of Washington, it is listed as a Class B Noxious Weed and therefore banned from sale by state law.[43][44][45] It is also a B-listed Noxious Weed in the state of Oregon.[46]
The variegated yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum) has become an invasive subspecies in several European countries. In the Netherlands, subspecies argentatum was introduced as an ornamental ground cover, and by 1985 it had become
naturalised and recorded in more localities than the native subspecies galeobdolon.[32] It is also invasive in Britain where it spreads by stolons at the rate of 1–2 metres (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) per growing season.[47] In Switzerland, subspecies argentatum tripled its occurrence in four decades (1980–2020) while exhibiting "a higher growth rate and regeneration capacity" than the native subspecies galeobdolon.[33]
Based on
morphological characters, number of
chromosomes, pattern of geographical distribution, and
phytochemistry, early botanists hypothesized that the
tetraploid subsp. montanum originated as a
hybrid between the two
diploid taxa, subsp. flavidum and subsp. galeobdolon.[48] However, more recent
phylogenetic data suggests that subsp. montanum originated from subsp. flavidum alone. Similarly, there is conflicting evidence regarding the origins of the tetraploid subsp. argentatum suggesting that it may or may not have originated from subsp. galeobdolon alone.[49]
Etymology
Both the generic name Lamium and the specific name galeobdolon were used by
Pliny the Elder in the first century AD.[50] The name galeobdolon has several possible origins.[51] It may come from the Latin words galeo meaning "to cover with a helmet" and dolon meaning "a fly's sting", or it may come from the Greek words galen meaning "weasel" and bdolos meaning "foetid smell". The latter interpretation is likely the source of the old common name 'yellow weasel-snout'.[52]
The common names archangel and dead-nettle have been in use for hundreds of years. In 1578, the
Flemishphysician and
botanistRembert Dodoens observed that "Dead nettell groweth every where".[53] The English
herbalistJohn Gerard used the word "archangel" in 1633.[54] Gerard believed the dead-nettles were so-named because their leaves resembled those of the true nettles in the family
Urticaceae.[55] The names "Arch-Angel" and "Dead Nettle" appear in the book The English Physitian (also known as the Complete Herbal) published by the English
botanist and
herbalistNicholas Culpeper in 1652. Both Dodoens and Gerard believed the name "archangel" referred to members of genus Lamium with "clusters of hooded flowers at the nodes rising along the stems like a choir of robed figures".[56] Others believe the name refers to the wing-like shape of its paired opposite leaves.[51]
Gallery
Botanical illustration by Johann Georg Sturm (1796)
Flower cluster with yellow
petals, hooded flowers, and unequal
stamens
Leaves with silvery white
variegated markings growing in
Jūrmala, Latvia
Cluster of plants with yellow flowers and silvery white variegated leaves
^
abcStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. Collins Flower Guide. Harper Collins
ISBN9-78-000718389-0
^
abcMeyer, Thomas.
"Taubnesselarten mit gelber Krone" [Deadnettle species with yellow crown]. Flora-de: Flora of Germany (in German). Retrieved 16 March 2024.
^"Lamium galeobdolon". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.).
"Lamiastrum galeobdolon". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
^Weakley, Alan S.; Southeastern Flora Team (2024).
"Lamium galeobdolon(Linnaeus) Linnaeus". Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
Bendiksby, Mika; Brysting, Anne K.; Thorbek, Lisbeth; Gussarova, Galina; Ryding, Olof (August 2011). "Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus LamiumL. (Lamiaceae): Disentangling origins of presumed allotetraploids". Taxon. 60 (4): 986–1000.
doi:
10.1002/tax.604004.
JSTOR41317321.
DeFelice, Michael S. (2005). "Henbit and the Deadnettles, Lamium spp.: Archangels or Demons?". Weed Technology. 19 (3): 768–774.
doi:
10.1614/WT-05-072.1.
JSTOR3989505.
Gilman, Arthur V. (2015). New Flora of Vermont. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden, Volume 110. Bronx, New York, USA: The New York Botanical Garden Press.
ISBN978-0-89327-516-7.
Haines, Arthur (2011). New England Wild Flower Society's Flora Novae Angliae: A Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of New England. Illustrated by Elizabeth Farnsworth and Gordon Morrison. Yale University Press.
ISBN978-0-300-17154-9.
Taylor, Brian; Glaister, Jim (2018). "Variegated Yellow Archangel Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum". In Fennell, Mark; Jones, Laura; Wade, Max (eds.). Practical Management of Invasive Non-Native Weeds in Britain and Ireland. Liverpool University Press. pp. 103–104.
doi:
10.2307/j.ctv34h08r7.
ISBN978-1-85341-165-6.
JSTORj.ctv34h08r7.40.
Ellis, R. Gwynn, ed. (September 1987).
"Variegated archangels"(PDF). B.S.B.I. News. 46. Cardiff: Dept. of Botany, National Museum of Wales: 9–11. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
Lamium montanum var. florentinum (Silva Tar.) Buttler & Schippm.
Lamium montanum (Pers.) Hoffm. ex Kabath
Lamium galeobdolon, the yellow archangel, is a
species of
flowering plant in the mint
familyLamiaceae. It is native to
Europe and western
Asia but it is widely introduced in North America and elsewhere. It is the only species in the genus Lamium with yellow flowers. Another common name for this species is golden dead-nettle. In New Zealand, it is called the aluminium plant or artillery plant. The common names archangel and dead-nettle have been in use for hundreds of years, dating back to at least the 16th century.
Lamium galeobdolon comprises four closely-related
subspecies, one of which, the variegated yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum) from central Europe,[3] is widely present as an
invasive subspecies in several European countries outside of its native range and also in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.[7]
Description
Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato is a perennial plant with square stems growing from 15 to 60 cm (6 to 24 in) tall. The paired
opposite leaves are stalked with toothed margins. The leaves are 4 to 7 cm (2 to 3 in) long, and may or may not have silvery markings (an important character used to distinguish subspecies). The inflorescence is a pseudowhorl of 4–16 flowers (called a
verticillaster) clustered around the axil of a leaf-pair. Each flower has bilateral (
zygomorphic) symmetry. The
calyx is five-lobed and the
corolla is yellow with a prominent hood. The flower's lower lip has three lobes with the central lobe often streaked with orange. There are two short
stamens and two long ones. Flowering is in late spring to early summer, typically May–June in Britain. A pair of fused
carpels give rise to a four-chambered
schizocarp.[8][9][10]
Identification
Subspecies of Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato are the only
taxa in the genus with yellow flowers. All of the subspecies are
stoloniferous except subsp. flavidum. The
invasive subsp. argentatum is readily distinguished by its silvery white
variegated leaves. Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon and subsp. montanum can be difficult to distinguish but assuming the plant in question is in full flower, subsp. galeobdolon has a maximum of six (rarely seven) flowers per verticillaster while subsp. montanum averages ten flowers per verticillaster.[11] The hairiness of the lower stems is also a useful clue, with subsp. galeobdolon having hairs on the four ridges only, while subsp. montanum is more uniformly hairy across the faces as well as the ridges.[8][12]
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. flavidum is notable for the lack of stolons, frequently branched fertile stems with upright flowering lateral shoots, and 10–16 small flowers per verticillaster.[9][13] An identification key for the remaining taxa follows Rosenbaumová, Plačková & Suda (2004)[14], Streeter et al. (2009),[8] and Walker & Mountford (2020):[12]
Identification Key Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato in central and western Europe
1a. Leaves and
bracts (except for the uppermost) with a distinct silvery pattern (two
flexuous bands along the midrib) persisting year around, bracts with wide apical teeth; flowers relatively large
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum
1b. Leaves generally without silvery pattern (if present, then never forming two continuous flexuous bands along the midrib); apical teeth of bracts mostly narrower; flowers relatively smaller
2
2a. The uppermost bracts
ovate, generally less than twice as long as wide, with more-or-less equally distributed marginal teeth, apical tooth short and obtuse, lowermost bracts narrower or only slightly wider than the uppermost ones; the uppermost leaves shortly
petiolate; verticillasters few-flowered (maximum number of flowers usually 4–7); hairs on the lower half of the stem almost entirely confined to the angles
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon
2b. The uppermost bracts
lanceolate, more than twice as long as wide, marginal teeth towards the apex more separated, apical tooth long and acute; lowermost bracts mostly distinctly wider than the uppermost ones; the uppermost leaves with longer petioles; maximum number of flowers in verticillasters generally (6–)10–14; hairs on the lower half of the stem more or less equal distribution on the faces and the angles
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. montanum
Other taxa in the group can have marked leaves but those of subsp. argentatum are distinctive:[15]
Permanent silvery pattern on leaf lamina in L. argentatum always forms two flexuous bands along the midrib, mostly not interrupted by the lateral veins. They are distinctive particularly from the late autumn to the early spring when a contrast brownish-maroon colouring develops on the abaxial side and extends to the midrib-zone of the upper leaf side. Although variegated leaves were frequently observed in all other taxa in our study, they never matched the description above. Silvery-grey markings constituted merely separate splashes or flecks (small-sized in L. montanum and L. flavidum, larger in L. galeobdolon), not merged into continuous bands. Thus, a combination of two distinct silvery flexuous bands together with a strong chocolate-maroon zone along the midrib in winter can be regarded as specific L. argentatum markers.
— Rosenbaumová, Plačková & Suda (2004)
In particular, a
cultivar (of subsp. flavidum - ? - [citation needed]) known as 'Herman's Pride' has silver-spotted leaves,[16] but even though the markings are unlike those of subsp. argentatum, the two taxa are sometimes confused.
The base
chromosome number of taxa in genus Lamium is x = 9.[17]Lamium galeobdolon subsp. flavidum and subsp. galeobdolon are
diploid (2n = 2x = 18) while subsp. argentatum and subsp. montanum are
tetraploid (2n = 4x = 36). A few
triploid individuals have been reported.[18] The triploids are thought to be natural hybrids between diploid subsp. galeobdolon and tetraploid subsp. argentatum.[19]
Taxonomy
Lamium galeobdolon was first described as Galeopsis galeobdolon by the Swedish botanist
Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[20] Linnaeus himself transferred it to the genus Lamium in 1759, and therefore the correct name in Lamium is Lamium galeobdolon(L.) L.[1][21]
Most authorities with a global scope accept four closely-related taxa, either as subspecies of Lamium galeobdolon,[2][22][23] or as full species in genus Lamium,[9] in which case the group of taxa is referred to as Lamium subgen. Galeobdolon.[24] Some authorities
segregate the species into other genera (either Galeobdolon or Lamiastrum) but genus Lamium remains
monophyletic in any case.[25]
Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum was first described as Galeobdolon argentatum by the Czech botanist
Miroslav Smejkal in 1975.[26] In a comprehensive and influential treatment of genus Lamium published in 1989,[27] the Dutch botanist
Jacob Mennema reduced the species to forma and placed it in
synonymy with Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon. Hence subsp. argentatum was neglected for a long time and its invasion history is poorly documented.[28]
There are a number of closely related
taxa that
hybridise with L. galeobdolon and in some cases are not unequivocally accepted as distinct
species but considered
subspecies or
varieties by many authors.[citation needed] Most well known among these is variegated yellow archangel (subsp. argentatum), whose leaves often have
variegation, showing as silver patches arranged as a wide semicircle. This, and in particular its large-flowered and even stronger-marked
cultivar 'Variegatum', is the taxon most often met with as a garden escapee.
Distribution
Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato is native across Europe, western Asia, and portions of the
Middle East. It ranges from
Ireland and
Spain east across Europe as far as the
West Siberian Plain and southeast to
Iran.[2]Lamium galeobdolon subsp. flavidum is native to the Alps, northern Italy, and the mountain ranges northeast of the
Adriatic Sea. L. galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon and subsp. montanum have broadly similar distributions, but subsp. montanum extends further west and south than subsp. galeobdolon, which has a more northeast distribution.[13][29][12] Within
Britain and
Ireland, subsp. montanum is a widespread native across England and Wales and locally in southern Scotland and eastern Ireland,[29] while nominate subsp. galeobdolon is restricted to a small area in
Lincolnshire in eastern England.[12]
Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato is widely introduced in outside of its native areas in Europe, and also in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States,[2][30] but authorities disagree about the distribution of introduced subspecies. As of April 2024[update],
Plants of the World Online (POWO) claims that Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum has been introduced in Great Britain and Ireland (in agreement with BSBI data[31]) and Italy,[3] but since subsp. argentatum is reported to be introduced in the Netherlands and Switzerland,[32][33] the list is incomplete. POWO also claims that Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon has been introduced in Madeira, New Zealand (both
North Island and
South Island), and the United States,[5] but
iNaturalist data show subsp. argentatum as much the most widespread subspecies in all these areas (click on the 'Map' tag for each of the subspecies).[34] However, authoritative sources based in North America implicitly refer to Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato,[35][36][37][30][38] so POWO's claim is unsubstantiated. The list of
U.S. states where Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato is said to occur varies dramatically depending on the source.
Ecology
Lamium galeobdolonsensu lato has been widely introduced as a garden plant (often under the name Lamiastrum galeobdolon), especially in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States where it has escaped cultivation and become an
invasive species. In New Zealand, it is listed by the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord and therefore banned from sale, propagation, and distribution throughout the country.[39][40][41] It is also listed by the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia in Canada.[42] In the U.S. state of Washington, it is listed as a Class B Noxious Weed and therefore banned from sale by state law.[43][44][45] It is also a B-listed Noxious Weed in the state of Oregon.[46]
The variegated yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum) has become an invasive subspecies in several European countries. In the Netherlands, subspecies argentatum was introduced as an ornamental ground cover, and by 1985 it had become
naturalised and recorded in more localities than the native subspecies galeobdolon.[32] It is also invasive in Britain where it spreads by stolons at the rate of 1–2 metres (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) per growing season.[47] In Switzerland, subspecies argentatum tripled its occurrence in four decades (1980–2020) while exhibiting "a higher growth rate and regeneration capacity" than the native subspecies galeobdolon.[33]
Based on
morphological characters, number of
chromosomes, pattern of geographical distribution, and
phytochemistry, early botanists hypothesized that the
tetraploid subsp. montanum originated as a
hybrid between the two
diploid taxa, subsp. flavidum and subsp. galeobdolon.[48] However, more recent
phylogenetic data suggests that subsp. montanum originated from subsp. flavidum alone. Similarly, there is conflicting evidence regarding the origins of the tetraploid subsp. argentatum suggesting that it may or may not have originated from subsp. galeobdolon alone.[49]
Etymology
Both the generic name Lamium and the specific name galeobdolon were used by
Pliny the Elder in the first century AD.[50] The name galeobdolon has several possible origins.[51] It may come from the Latin words galeo meaning "to cover with a helmet" and dolon meaning "a fly's sting", or it may come from the Greek words galen meaning "weasel" and bdolos meaning "foetid smell". The latter interpretation is likely the source of the old common name 'yellow weasel-snout'.[52]
The common names archangel and dead-nettle have been in use for hundreds of years. In 1578, the
Flemishphysician and
botanistRembert Dodoens observed that "Dead nettell groweth every where".[53] The English
herbalistJohn Gerard used the word "archangel" in 1633.[54] Gerard believed the dead-nettles were so-named because their leaves resembled those of the true nettles in the family
Urticaceae.[55] The names "Arch-Angel" and "Dead Nettle" appear in the book The English Physitian (also known as the Complete Herbal) published by the English
botanist and
herbalistNicholas Culpeper in 1652. Both Dodoens and Gerard believed the name "archangel" referred to members of genus Lamium with "clusters of hooded flowers at the nodes rising along the stems like a choir of robed figures".[56] Others believe the name refers to the wing-like shape of its paired opposite leaves.[51]
Gallery
Botanical illustration by Johann Georg Sturm (1796)
Flower cluster with yellow
petals, hooded flowers, and unequal
stamens
Leaves with silvery white
variegated markings growing in
Jūrmala, Latvia
Cluster of plants with yellow flowers and silvery white variegated leaves
^
abcStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. Collins Flower Guide. Harper Collins
ISBN9-78-000718389-0
^
abcMeyer, Thomas.
"Taubnesselarten mit gelber Krone" [Deadnettle species with yellow crown]. Flora-de: Flora of Germany (in German). Retrieved 16 March 2024.
^"Lamium galeobdolon". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.).
"Lamiastrum galeobdolon". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
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