The flowers of Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) attract attention when they begin blooming in the spring. Although Henbit is native to Eurasia and Africa, it now grows in disturbed places throughout North America and has a reputation as an unwelcome weed.
Henbit’s flowers grow in a whorl from leaf axils. Leaves grow in pairs opposite each other along a square stem. (Some lower leaves do grow singly with a petiole.)
At any point in time, you can find Henbit flowers in different stages of development on the same plant. In the next photo, there is a shriveled (brown) flower at the left, a view down the throat of a mature flower at the center of the image, a pair of mature flowers at the upper right (from the back side of the flower), and several new flower buds in development (just below the center mature flower).
When Henbit’s flower dies, it withers, turns brown and drops off the plant. Meanwhile, the seeds develop for the next generation of plants.
Watch this video for more photos of Henbit throughout its life cycle. The video includes some excellent images of the seeds of Lamium amplexicaule.
I found a white Deadnettle (Henbit) earlier this year. It was completely white with no markings. How rare is this variation?
Thanks
I did some searching and I think Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) with white flowers is unusual. Variations in flower color or leaf shape are a “normal” occurrence in the plant world.
In contrast, White deadnettle (Lamium album) is a common plant found in Europe, Asia and North America.
Hi Angelyn,
I enjoyed the youtube video. I have a plant that I was trying to ID and it looks like it is henbit after watching the video couple of times. Below is a link to a pic