THE HIGHER DICOTYLEDONS. 351 



and flat-topped. As they ripen they become loose and 

 fall out of the persistent calyx-tube, or are shaken out by 

 the wind. 



355. Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) is far more 

 abundant and widely distributed than the White, often occur- 

 ring in extensive patches in cultivated soil (fields, gardens) as 

 well as on waste ground. It is a smaller plant and is annual, 

 flowering throughout the year (chiefly from March to October), 

 and may pass through several generations in a single year. 

 Its leaves are broader in proportion to their length, with a 

 more heart-shaped blade, and are more crowded towards the 

 top of the stem. The upper leaves are often densely covered 

 with silky hairs, and have a purplish-red colour. 



In open places the plant is branched at the base, giving it 

 a spreading habit, rarely over 6 inches high, and the whole 

 plant (stem, leaves, flowers) is deeply coloured. When grow- 

 ing among rank and crowded vegetation the plant is less 

 branched and taller, with dull- green leaves and stems. In 

 hedgerows the plant is " drawn "up to a height of 18 inches 

 or more, the stem having long internodes, and having nearly 

 all the leaves at the top. 



The flowers are smaller than those of L. album, but similar 

 in structure. The corolla is about ^ inch long, so that 

 short- tongued bees, and even flies, can reach the honey and 

 effect cross-pollination ; the tube is not constricted below the 

 ring of hairs, which is often poorly developed, and the throat 

 of the tube is very wide from back to front. 



Two other Brit, species of Dead-nettle are fairly common. L. 

 galeobdolon (Yellow Archangel), perennial, in woods and shaded 

 hedgerows, apart from being a shade-loving plant and having yellow 

 flowers (April-June), resembles L. album in habit and structure. Its 

 leaves are relatively longer and narrower, the calyx has short teeth, 

 the lower lip of the corolla has red or brown spots (making the flr. more 

 conspicuous to bees), and the anthers are hairless. 



Hen-bit Dead-nettle (L. amplexicaule), annual, in waste places 

 and cultd. fields, is like L. purpureum in general habit, but its leaves 

 are gen. distinctly lobed, and the upper ones are stalkless and clasp the 

 stem ; it rarely grows in such crowded patches, and flowers freely from 

 April to Oct. , the pale-rose flrs. varying in size ; in spring and autumn 

 small flrs. are produced which have a small imperfect corolla and do 

 not open but are self -pollinated (cleistogamic flrs. ), the ordinary flrs. 

 being pollinated by bees. 



