dead nettle

noun

1. any of various plants belonging to the genus Lamium, of the mint family, native to the Old World, having opposite leaves and clusters of small reddish or white flowers.

dead-nettle

noun

1. any Eurasian plant of the genus Lamium, such as L. alba (white dead-nettle), having leaves resembling nettles but lacking stinging hairs: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead-nettle¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

What they found was a surprise and shock to them — a newly emerged cabbage white butterfly feeding on a purple blooming dead nettle.

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Unlike stinging nettle, which is harder to find in the city, purple dead nettle grows abundantly across the five boroughs.

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It feeds throughout the winter on the roots of numerous plants, including the dock, dandelion, burdock, white dead nettle, black horehound, and the hop.

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There is some general resemblance, however, between the real nettles and the so-called dead nettles; the leaves for instance of the white dead nettle are very like those of the stinger.

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The carefully tended Isabella grapes wound their tender twigs up and around an apple tree; the roses were full of water shoots; the American lilies choked up with dead nettles.

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