Updates to purple deadnettle

This commit is contained in:
Kenneth John Odle 2026-06-10 13:24:00 -04:00
parent 32ac704cef
commit d8eef43414
3 changed files with 9 additions and 2 deletions

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@ -4,6 +4,9 @@
\lettrine[lraise=0.0, nindent=1pt]{D}{espite} walking around what is obviously disturbed spaces, I still see quite a few native species. They're just not as noticeable, either because they're trees and thus not something I'm paying attention to, or because they're not as showy as some of the introduced species that surround them. (That showiness may explain why early immigrants brought these plants with them.)
\ksecp{Goldenrod}{\textit{Solidago} spp.}{Asteraceae}
\noindent{}Almost ubiquitous. And always blamed for hayfever, although they are blameless.
\end{multicols*}

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@ -16,7 +16,11 @@ A member of the Apiaceae family (which also includes carrots, dill, and parsnips
This is the plant that the ancient Greeks used to poison the rabblerouser Socrates (which is what you get, I suppose, when you encourage people to think for themselves). All parts of the plants are toxic, especially the roots and seeds. Every once in a while somebody will mistake it for wild carrot (\textit{Daucus carota}) and make the news, occasionally posthumously. The poisonous alkaloids can also be absorbed through the skin, so handling it with ungloved hands can be dangerous. Mowing it can also be dangerous, as the compounds can be aerosolized and breathed in. A mask will provide some protection against this.
\ksecp{Purple Deadnettle}{\textit{Lamium purpureum} L.}{Lamiaceae}
\noindent{}I have seen this plant my entire life.
\noindent{}I have seen this plant my entire life. It is small and unassuming, and I guess most people overlook it. But as a child I was interested in the plants around me and I could not help but notice this one, as it's a charming little plant with scalloped, textured heart-shaped leaves that often overlap and delicate purple flowers on square stems typically of many members of the mint family. Rarely growing taller than twenty centimeters, it's easy for busy humans to overlook, but the bees rarely do. If you are patient you can see bees emerge from the flowers coated with the plant's bright red pollen.
It is edible, although I have never tried it as I typically see it growing by roadsides and I'm not sure how polluted those environments are. (Leaded gasoline was still a thing when I was a child, and I'm not aware of any studies that have examined how much of it is still in the soil along roads.) They are apparently good raw in salads, but can also be added to fried dishes. It also has medicinal properties, as a salve made with the plant is supposedly good at soothing skin irritations.
The common name ``dead nettle'' refers to its superficial resemblance to true nettles (\textit{Urtica}) but it lacks the stinging hairs of plants of that genus, hence ``dead.'' It is also sometimes called ``red deadnettle'' or ``purple archangel.''
\ksecp{Creeping Charlie}{\textit{Glechoma hederaceae} L.}{Lamiaceae}
\noindent{}Another plant I have seen my entire life.

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\input{parts/4-commands}
%%% Get it started
\checkandfixthelayout
\checkandfixthelayout % Required if you have altered settings for the memoir class
\begin{document}
\pagenumbering{roman}