Figure 58.—Ground-ivy (Nepeta hederacea)

Synonym

Nepeta glechoma Benth.; Glecoma hederacea L.

Other Common Names

Field balm, gill-over-the-ground, gill, creeping Charlie, robin-runs-away, cat's-foot.

Habitat And Range

Ground-ivy is found in dams and shady places, especially in thickets, from Newfoundland and Ontario to Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas, and Colorado.

Description

This small herb has numerous creeping, leafy, hairy stems sometimes 18 inches long, commonly branching at the base. The opposite leaves are round kidney-shaped, bluntly toothed, green on both sides, and one-half to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The stems of the lower leaves are commonly longer than the leaves. The blue and white tube-shaped flowers are borne, few in a cluster, in the axils of the leaves from March to May.

Part Used

The herb.