Species of the day: White Dead-nettle

admin
, 25 March 2020
Species of the day: White Dead-nettle
© James Duncan

By James Duncan

Learning and Engagement Officer

White Dead-nettle (Lamium album) is a flowering plant belonging to the mint family, the Lamiaceae. Interestingly this extensive family of plants take their name from a creature of ancient Greek mythology, the Lamia. She was a woman who ultimately became a half-serpent, child-eating monster, her name translating to 'gaping mouth.' It's actually the shape of the flowers within this family that give rise to this connection and specifically the appearance of the lips of the petals.

White Dead Nettle 3

However, these have a far more important purpose in nature. The lower lip provides a suitable landing platform for bees and other insects to pollinate the flowers, whilst the upper lip protects the stamens which transfer pollen onto the pollinating insect. The White Dead-nettle is therefore a very important source of nectar for bees, particularly at this time of the year, when few other nectar-producing plants are in flower. 

The reason for its name - it bears a close resemblance to the true 'stinging nettle' and indeed prior to producing flowers is remarkably similar. Fortunately it doesn't have any stinging (urticating) hairs so the 'dead' in its name refers to its inability to inflict any injury.

White Dead Nettle 4

White Dead-nettle © James Duncan

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783249063.56880 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783249063.61470.0458Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783249063.61480.0002Server address: 216.73.216.170
1783249063.61490Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783249063.61490Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/species-of-the-day-white-dead-nettle
    [s] => species-of-the-day-white-dead-nettle
    [1] => species-of-the-day-white-dead-nettle
)
1783249063.61520.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783249063.61630.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783249063.6180.0018 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783249063.61850.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783249063.62070.0021 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22648875
1783249063.62110.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22648875
1783249063.62160.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-05 10:57:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-05 10:57:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783249063.62250.0009 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='species-of-the-day-white-dead-nettle')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 10:57:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783249063.6250.0025 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783249063.62560.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2011 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 10:57:00'
1783249063.62640.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783249063.62720.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783249063.62780.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=191 LIMIT 1
1783249063.62860.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783249063.62880.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783249063.62980.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 10:57:00' AND postSlug='species-of-the-day-white-dead-nettle'
1783249063.65210.0223Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783249063.65260.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783249063.65430.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783249063.65460.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783249063.65530.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783249063.65660.0013 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783249063.65940.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783249063.65990.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783249063.66180.0019Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783249063.66180 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783249063.66250.0007 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783249063.66270.0003 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783249063.66410.0014 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783249063.66510.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783249063.66570.0005 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783249063.6680.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783249063.66890.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783249063.67150.0026 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783249063.67210.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783249063.67240.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783249063.67320.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783249063.67360.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='species-of-the-day-white-dead-nettle')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-05 10:57:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783249063.67570.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783249063.67620.0004 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783249063.67870.0025Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783249063.67950.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2011 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783249063.73080.0513 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783249063.73110.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783249063.73130.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783249063.73210.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783249063.73270.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783249063.73320.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783249063.73530.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783249063.73580.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783249063.73810.0024 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783249063.73920.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783249063.73980.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783249063.74030.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783249063.74260.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783249063.7430.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783249063.74480.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783249063.74680.002 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783249063.74730.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783249063.74770.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783249063.74970.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783249063.750.0003 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783249063.75170.0017 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783249063.75360.0019 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783249063.75410.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783249063.75450.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783249063.75630.0018 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783249063.75680.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783249063.75840.0016 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783249063.75950.0011Request time: 0.1931
1783249063.75950Process time: 0.193
1783249063.75950Memory: 1.6218