A creeping mint-family carpet with scalloped, kidney-shaped leaves and violet, purple-spotted, two-lipped flowers in whorls
Ground ivy — Glechoma hederacea.
Nature · Wildflowers & flowers
Ground ivy
Native · flowers in spring · woods, hedgerows, meadows, wasteland and lawns
Glechoma hederacea — Lamiaceae
Ground ivy is a creeping, scented mint-family evergreen that forms carpets on woodland floors, hedge banks and even lawns. It has nothing to do with ivy: its scalloped, kidney-shaped leaves and violet flowers with spotted lower lips mark it out. The Saxons brewed with it long before hops arrived, so it is also called alehoof.
How to spot them
- ▸Creeping, square, rooting stems bearing pairs of round to kidney-shaped, scalloped, slightly hairy leaves
- ▸Upright flowering stems with two to four violet, two-lipped flowers in whorls at the leaf pairs; the lower lip is spotted purple
- ▸Aromatic when crushed
- ▸Look-alikes: common ivy (Hedera helix) is a woody climber and is unrelated; bugle has bluer, upright spikes and glossy, unscalloped leaves; violets have heart-shaped leaves and single, spurred flowers
- ▸Carpets in shade but tolerates mowing on lawns
How to know it
Despite the name, this small evergreen is not closely related to the climber it is named after
Ground ivy — a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae.
Saxons used it to flavour and clarify ale, giving it names such as alehoof and tunhoof
Ground ivy.
Its old names include gill-over-the-ground, catsfoot, Run-away Robin and, in the US, Creeping Charlie
Ground ivy.
This creeping plant has been used as a substitute for animal rennet to make cheese and as a herbal tea rich in vitamin C
Ground ivy.
A lawn weed that survives mowing, and a traditional remedy for coughs and bronchitis
Ground ivy.
Quick-fire facts
- •Family Lamiaceae, the mint family, and not related to common ivy (Araliaceae)
- •Plantlife: found throughout the British Isles, rarer in Scotland; spreads rapidly via creeping stems
- •Names include gill-over-the-ground, alehoof, tunhoof, field balm, catsfoot, Run-away Robin and Our Lady's Vine
- •Saxons used it to flavour and clarify ale, before hops replaced it
- •Traditionally known as a lung-cleansing herb for coughs and bronchitis
- •Used as a rennet substitute in cheese-making
- •A rich source of vitamin C; can be used for herbal tea
- •Survives mowing, so it thrives in lawns
Drill it — 6 cards
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Sources
- Plantlife — Ground Ivy