Galeopsis tetrahit - Common Hempnettle - (Lamiaceae)

The square-sectioned hairy stalks and straggly appearance of this member of the mint family are a help in its identification. The flowers themselves are usually pinkish-purple but quite commonly, as in the sample below, they are almost white. Yellow-flowered specimens also occur in some parts of the UK.

Common hemp-nettle

The flowers first appear in July and continue blooming until September. Hedgerows are its more normal habitat, but we have also found common hemp-nettle on the gravelly shallows of spate rivers and it is occasionally seen in open woodland too.

Common Hempnettle is widespread throughout the UK but more common in the south and west.

The plants on this page were photographed in West Wales in August.