The common blue form of this popular groundcover; there is also a much rarer lavender form. This one was blooming in early May at the edge of the woods in Mount Lebanon.

Although Gray says this species is “smooth or but slightly pubescent,” this particular plant looks rather fuzzy up on the flower stalk. The similar Ajuga genevensis is supposed to be a hairier species, but it lacks the creeping stolons characteristic of Ajuga reptans, and this plant was stoloning up a storm. We therefore identify it as a slightly fuzzier-than-average Ajuga reptans.

AJUGA L. BUGLE WEED

Calyx 5-toothed. The large and spreading lower lip of the corolla with the middle lobe emarginate or 2-cleft. Stamens as in Teucrium, but anther- cells less confluent. (From a- privative, and xygon, Latin jugum, yoke, from the seeming absence of a yoke-fellow to the lower lip of the corolla.)

A. reptans L. Perennial, 1-2.5 dm. high, smooth or but slightly pubescent, with copious creeping stolons; leaves obovate or spatulate, sometimes sinuate, the cauline sessile, the floral approximate, subtending several sessile blue flowers. Locally in fields, Me. and Que. to s. N. V. May-July. (Nat. from Eu.)

Also called Bugleweed, a name it shares with Lycopus virginicus. This is a popular groundcover at garden centers, usually in varieties with bronze or variegated leaves. The original green-leaved version is thoroughly naturalized here; it persists in old plantings for decades, but it also pops up on its own, especially at the edge of an open woodland. The flowers are normally blue, but there is an uncommon lavender form, as we see in this stand in Beechview.

AJUGA L. BUGLE WEED
Calyx 5-toothed. The large and spreading lower lip of the corolla with the middle lobe emarginate or 2-cleft. Stamens as in Teucrium, but anther- cells less confluent. (From a- privative, and xygon, Latin jugum, yoke, from the seeming absence of a yoke-fellow to the lower lip of the corolla.)

A. reptans L. Perennial, 1-2.5 dm. high, smooth or but slightly pubescent, with copious creeping stolons; leaves obovate or spatulate, sometimes sinuate, the cauline sessile, the floral approximate, subtending several sessile blue flowers. Locally in fields, Me. and Que. to s. N. V. May-July. (Nat. from Eu.)

This beautiful little flower grows everywhere along the street in the city. It starts blooming quite early, and by the end of April is in full flower, as these plants were in a slightly weedy patch by the street in Beechview. The whole plant is tiny, and the flowers would be inconspicuous, except that the upper leaves are various shades of purple or dark pink, setting off the pale pink flowers beautifully.

Gray describes the genus and the species:

LAMIUM L. DEAD NETTLE

Calyx tubular-bell-shaped, about 5-nerved, with 5 nearly equal awl-pointed teeth. Corolla dilated at the throat; upper lip ovate or oblong, arched, narrowed at the base; the middle lobe of the spreading lower lip broad, notched at the apex, contracted as if stalked at the base; the lateral ones small, at the margin of the throat. Decumbent herbs, the lowest leaves small and long-petioled, the middle heart-shaped and doubly toothed, the floral subtending the whorled flower-cluster. (Name from lamos, throat, in allusion to the ringent corolla.)

* Annuals or biennials, low; flowers small, purplish, at most 1.5 cm. long.

L. PURPUREUM L. Leaves roundish or oblong, heart-shaped, crenate-toothed, all petioled. N. E. to N. C. Apr., May. (Nat. from Eu.)

Ground Ivy, or Gill-Over-the-Ground, is the nemesis of every suburban homeowner who prizes purity in his lawn. For more tolerant types, it’s a friendly little plant. It never grows very tall; it has pretty blue flowers; and it makes your whole lawn smell minty when you mow it. This colony was growing in a lawn in Mount Lebanon, where it was blooming in late April.

Gray places this in the genus Nepeta:

NEPETA L. CAT MINT
Calyx tubular, often incurved. Corolla dilated in the throat; the upper lip erect, rather concave, notched or 2-cleft; the lower 3-cleft, the middle lobe largest, either 2-lobed or entire. —Perennial herbs. (The Latin name, thought to be derived from Nepete, an Etruscan city.)

N. hederacea (L.) Trevisan. (GROUND IVY, GILL-OVER-THE-GROUND.) Creeping and trailing; leaves petioled, round-kidney-shaped, crenate, green both sides; corolla thrice the length of the calyx, light blue. (Glecoma L.; Glechoma Benth.) Damp or shady places, near towns—May-July. (Nat. from Eu.)

Bugleweed is common at the edges of ponds, often dangling over the water. Here we see it framed by the clouds reflected in a pond in the Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville.