The image, above, shows the full red deadnettle plant (Lamiumpurpureum), clearly showing the stem, leaves and flowers..
| Common Name: Red Deadnettle |
| Scientific Name: Lamium purpureum |
| Other Names: Purple Deadnettle |
| Family: Lamiaceae |
| Range: Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to the Mediterranean and Israel. |
Physical Characteristics
Lamium purpureum is a hardy Annual plant, growing to 30cm (1 ft) tall. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from April to August and seeds ripen from May to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees. The plant is self-fertile.
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| Edible Parts: Young Shoots, Leaves, Flowers |
 Edibility Rating: 2 
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 Known Hazards: None Known.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Red Deadnettle along with all the Red Deadnettle containing recipes presented on this site, with 1 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Red Deadnettle as a major wild food ingredient.
Red Deadnettle, Lamium purpureum is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. It is native throughout Europe and western Asia, growing in a variety of habitats from open grassland to woodland, generally on moist, fertile soils. In the correct conditions this plant can grow to 30cm tall and has green to reddish cubic stems that bear broad, triangular, softly hairy leaves with a rounded base and a serrated margin. These leaves are superficially similar to those of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) but do not sting hence they are described as 'dead'. The leaves themselves tend to be green at the bottom of the plant and shade to purplish at the top. The flowers of this plant are bright purple and are often produced throughout the year. It is often found alongside the similar species, Henbit Deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule) which is easily mistaken for it since they both have similar looking leaves and similar bright purple flowers; they can be distinguished by the stalked leaves of Red Deadnettle on the flower stem, compared to the unstalked leaves of Henbit Deadnettle.
The young shoots, leaves and flowers of this plant are edible and, once washed, can be simply cooked by adding to frying pan with a knob of butter some spring onions and plenty of seasoning. When sautéed for ten minutes they are ready to consume. Ideally finish with a twist of fresh nutmeg and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice before serving. The tops of young plants can also be used in salads or can be stir-fried as a spring vegetable. The flavour is best when the plant is in flower as it can be very insipid when young. The plant can also be treated as a potherb. The flowers are edible and can be added to salads or used to garnish desserts.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Red Deadnettle as a major wild food ingredient.
Red Deadnettle, Lamium purpureum is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. It is native throughout Europe and western Asia, growing in a variety of habitats from open grassland to woodland, generally on moist, fertile soils. In the correct conditions this plant can grow to 30cm tall and has green to reddish cubic stems that bear broad, triangular, softly hairy leaves with a rounded base and a serrated margin. These leaves are superficially similar to those of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) but do not sting hence they are described as 'dead'. The leaves themselves tend to be green at the bottom of the plant and shade to purplish at the top. The flowers of this plant are bright purple and are often produced throughout the year. It is often found alongside the similar species, Henbit Deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule) which is easily mistaken for it since they both have similar looking leaves and similar bright purple flowers; they can be distinguished by the stalked leaves of Red Deadnettle on the flower stem, compared to the unstalked leaves of Henbit Deadnettle.
The young shoots, leaves and flowers of this plant are edible and, once washed, can be simply cooked by adding to frying pan with a knob of butter some spring onions and plenty of seasoning. When sautéed for ten minutes they are ready to consume. Ideally finish with a twist of fresh nutmeg and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice before serving. The tops of young plants can also be used in salads or can be stir-fried as a spring vegetable. The flavour is best when the plant is in flower as it can be very insipid when young. The plant can also be treated as a potherb. The flowers are edible and can be added to salads or used to garnish desserts.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Red Deadnettle recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 1 recipes in total:
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| A Messe of Greens Origin: Britain |
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