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Weed guide
Henbit
Lamium amplexicaule · Mint family (Lamiaceae)
Also called henbit deadnettle (UK), dead nettle (Australia).
Illustration
A small winter weed with square stems, scalloped leaves and pink-purple tubular flowers. It dies off by itself as the weather warms, so the main job is pulling it before it seeds.
How to spot it
- Square stems branching from the base, up to about 25–40 cm.
- Rounded, hairy, scalloped leaves in pairs: the upper ones wrap around the stem with no stalk, the lower ones sit on long stalks.
- Whorls of slender, tubular pink-purple flowers, 1.2–1.9 cm long, with a darker lower lip.
- Sprouts in autumn and dies back as it warms up in late spring.
Easily confused with
Purple deadnettle
Its top leaves are on stalks, triangular and tinged red-purple.
Creeping Charlie
All its leaves have stalks, its flowers are blue-violet, and it's a perennial that roots along its stems.
Stagger weed (Stachys arvensis, Australia)
No stem-clasping upper leaves.
Where it's a problem
- North America: A common weed of lawns and gardens, though not an aggressive one.
- United Kingdom: Native, and valued by pollinators.
- Australia: Present, but not a declared weed.
- New Zealand: Naturalised since the 1880s.
What to do
- Pull or hoe it while it's small, before it flowers and sets seed.
- Don't leave pulled plants lying on moist soil, where pieces can root.
- In lawns, thicken the grass: mow a little higher, feed, water and aerate.
- It dies by itself in summer heat, so late-season effort isn't needed.
If you use a herbicide, choose one labelled for henbit and follow the label and local rules. Treatment works best on small plants in autumn; late-spring spraying generally isn't needed.
Follow your local council's guidance for disposing of weeds. Councils usually advise against putting weeds like this in the green waste / vegetation bin or the compost.
Take care: It can cause 'staggers' in livestock that eat it.
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Sources
- University of California IPM: Henbit
- Purdue University: Henbit and purple deadnettle
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension: Henbit
- Iowa State University Extension: Ground ivy or henbit?
- University of Queensland weed key: Henbit
- NZ Plant Conservation Network: Lamium amplexicaule
- RHS: Lamium amplexicaule
Facts checked Sunday 27 September 2026. General guidance only: follow your local council, agency and product label.