White Deadnettle

Lamium album

Family: Lamiaceae Part used: Flowers and leaves (dried)

Key Compounds

• Mucilage
• Tannins
• Iridoids (lamalbide, lamiide)
• Flavonoids (lamioside, lamoside)
• Chlorogenic acid
• Caffeic acid
• Tyramine
• Histamine (trace)
• Saponins
• Potassium salts

Traditional Use

• Heavy menstrual bleeding and leucorrhoea — primary traditional application across European folk medicine; tannin content provides astringent hemostatic action on uterine mucosa; iridoids contribute anti-inflammatory activity; the mucilage provides demulcent soothing of inflamed mucous membranes; traditional combination with lady's mantle and shepherd's purse for menorrhagia; used as a douche preparation in older European herbal practice for leucorrhoea (vaginal discharge); the EMA HMPC has accepted traditional use documentation for heavy menstrual bleeding and related applications
• Respiratory support — mucilage soothes irritated mucous membranes of the respiratory tract; mild expectorant from saponin content; traditional application for dry cough, hoarseness, and upper respiratory irritation; combined with mullein and thyme for respiratory formulas; the mucilaginous mechanism is the primary therapeutic action for this application; less prominent in contemporary use than the women's health application
• Urinary tract support — potassium content and mild diuretic action support urinary health; traditional European application for cystitis and fluid retention; the anti-inflammatory iridoids may reduce urinary tract inflammation; combined with uva ursi, horsetail, or corn silk in urinary formulas
• Wound healing and skin conditions — topical application of the strong infusion for wounds, minor skin infections, and irritated skin; tannin astringency and anti-inflammatory flavonoids; traditional compress for bruising and minor wounds; consistent minor application across European folk medicine

‘Dead’ nettle because it looks like stinging nettle but doesn’t sting.

The resemblance is precise — same leaf shape, same leaf texture, similar height, similar habitat. White deadnettle grows mixed with stinging nettles in the same hedgerows and on the same roadsides. The critical difference is the stem: square rather than round, because white deadnettle is in the Lamiaceae (mint family) and stinging nettle is in the Urticaceae (nettle family). Entirely different plants from entirely different families that look, to casual inspection, the same.

The hooded white flowers in spring are for bumblebees. The nectar at the base of each flower is accessible to long-tongued bees. Children sucked it directly from the flower. Rural English folk names for this practice — ‘suck-a-bottle,’ ‘bees’ hives’ — are recorded in botanical literature. The same plant was dried by the adults in those communities for women’s health preparations.

Meet the plant

A creeping perennial with square stems (the Lamiaceae marker), opposite toothed leaves, and whorls of white two-lipped flowers up the stem from spring into summer. The flowers have the distinctive Lamiaceae hood — the upper lip shelters the stamens; the lower lip is a landing platform for bees. Grows in hedgerows, roadsides, and waste ground throughout temperate Europe, preferring nitrogen-rich disturbed soil. Mildly aromatic when leaves are bruised — a faint honey-like scent.

The women’s health application

White deadnettle’s traditional primary application — heavy menstrual bleeding and leucorrhoea — rests on three converging chemical mechanisms:

Tannin astringency: The tannin content tones and tightens uterine mucosa, reducing excess secretion and minor bleeding. The same mechanism as lady’s mantle, raspberry leaf, and shepherd’s purse.

Iridoid anti-inflammatory: Lamalbide, lamiide, and related iridoids reduce mucosal inflammation. The anti-inflammatory effect is relevant to both the bleeding reduction and the leucorrhoea application.

Mucilage demulcency: The polysaccharide mucilage soothes inflamed mucous membranes — including uterine and vaginal mucosa.

The EMA HMPC accepted this traditional use and white deadnettle has traditional herbal medicine registration in the EU for heavy menstrual bleeding.

The early spring bee timing

The flowering of white deadnettle coincides with bumblebee queen emergence from winter dormancy — typically February to April depending on the climate. Bumblebee queens need substantial nectar immediately after emergence to warm up, fly, and establish new nests. Very few plants flower this early.

White deadnettle’s hooded flower structure is sized for long-tongued bumblebees; short-tongued insects cannot reach the nectar at the base. This makes it a bee-specific resource at a critical moment in the bumblebee year.

In a garden context: white deadnettle allowed to flower in early spring alongside other early plants (primrose, lungwort, pulmonaria) provides food for bumblebee colonies at the moment they most need it. The herb’s medicinal reputation is secondary to this ecological role for most contemporary gardeners.

What people actually do with it

Infusion (menstrual, respiratory): 1–2 teaspoons dried flowers and leaves per cup, steeped 10 minutes. 2–3 cups daily for menstrual applications; 3–4 cups during respiratory illness.

Strong infusion (topical): 3 teaspoons per half cup, steeped 15 minutes, cooled. Used as a compress for minor wounds and skin irritation. Traditional vaginal wash preparation in older herbal practice.

Tincture: 2–4 mL in water, 2–3 times daily.

Menstrual formula: Combined with lady’s mantle (primary astringent for heavy periods) and shepherd’s purse (hemostatic) in equal parts — a traditional combination covering astringent, anti-inflammatory, and vascular hemostatic mechanisms.

Fresh flowers: Edible directly from the plant as a spring food. Young leaves cooked as a spring vegetable — treated like spinach, wilted, eaten warm or cold.

Could you grow this yourself?

White deadnettle will grow itself in any nitrogen-rich disturbed soil in partial shade or sun. If it is not already in your garden, it will arrive eventually — it self-seeds and spreads by rhizome. If you want to encourage it, do not weed it out of hedgerow or border edges in spring. Harvest flowers when they are fully open, before the plant sets seed. The plant is a useful addition to a medicinal and pollinator garden; in some settings it is considered a weed to manage rather than a plant to cultivate.

White Deadnettle (ホワイトデッドネトル) in Japan

Lamium species are found in Japan primarily as the red deadnettle (L. purpureum, ヒメオドリコソウ — ’little dancer grass’), which is a common introduced weed throughout Japan. White deadnettle (L. album) is less prevalent but present in some areas. Neither species has traditional medicinal use in Japanese kampo.

The genus is noted in Japanese botanical literature for its resemblance to nettles and its early-spring bee value — both observations consistent with the European understanding. Western herbal supplements containing white deadnettle are available in Japan through European herbal channels.

Things you’re probably wondering

Are the leaves edible? Yes — young spring leaves of white deadnettle are edible and have been consumed as a spring vegetable in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and occasionally in Western Europe. Cook them as you would spinach or nettle leaves. They have a mild, slightly sweet flavour without the bitterness of some greens. The flowers are directly edible for their nectar and mild flavour. This is an incidental food herb rather than a cultivated vegetable.

Does white deadnettle affect blood pressure? The historical caution about white deadnettle and blood pressure appears in some older herbal texts based on its Lamiaceae membership and the presence of tyramine (a biogenic amine that can affect blood pressure at high doses by releasing norepinephrine). At standard therapeutic infusion doses, this is not a practical concern. The caution has more relevance if someone is taking MAO inhibitors, which prevent tyramine breakdown — in which case even dietary tyramine can cause hypertensive crisis. Those on MAOIs should avoid high-tyramine foods and herbs, including white deadnettle.

Botanical details

The full compound list

See Also

• Lady’s Mantle — primary astringent for heavy menstrual bleeding; traditional combination
• Shepherd’s Purse — hemostatic; traditional combination for menorrhagia
• Raspberry Leaf — uterine tonic; overlapping women’s health applications

References

• European Medicines Agency. (2010). Community Herbal Monograph on Lamium album L., flos. EMA/HMPC/571484/2009.
• Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal. Dover.
• Panizzi, L. et al. (1993). Polyphenols from Lamium album L. Phytochemistry, 32(2), 375–378.
• Hoffmann, D. (2003). Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine. Healing Arts Press.