Red Hemp-nettle

Red Hemp-nettle is a summer annual that usually germinates during spring and flowers from July to October, setting seed late in the year. It is a downy plant and has weakly-toothed narrow leaves in opposite pairs on the stem. It produces small but beautiful rosy-purple flowers with white spots on the bottom petal in small whorls around the stem.

It used to grow in many parts of southern England and south Wales, but has shown a severe decline since 1930 and is now found in only a few dozen places. The use of fertilisers and herbicides, development of highly productive crop varieties, loss of field margins and autumn cultivation patterns which destroy plants before they have shed their seeds are the principal reasons for its decline, and also the main threats to its future.

In the UK, this species is classified as Critically Endangered in "The Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain" as well as being Nationally Scarce. It receives general protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it has its own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). Elsewhere, it is found in Europe and is less rare on the French side of the channel.

Red Hemp-nettle Galeopsis angustifolia Hoffm.
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Red Hemp-nettle Red Hemp-nettle flowers Closeup	Red Hemp-nettle is a summer annual that usually germinates during spring and flowers from July to October, setting seed late in the year. It is a downy plant and has weakly-toothed narrow leaves in opposite pairs on the stem. It produces small but beautiful rosy-purple flowers with white spots on the bottom petal in small whorls around the stem. It used to grow in many parts of southern England and south Wales, but has shown a severe decline since 1930 and is now found in only a few dozen places. The use of fertilisers and herbicides, development of highly productive crop varieties, loss of field margins and autumn cultivation patterns which destroy plants before they have shed their seeds are the principal reasons for its decline, and also the main threats to its future. In the UK, this species is classified as Critically Endangered in "The Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain" as well as being Nationally Scarce. It receives general protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it has its own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). Elsewhere, it is found in Europe and is less rare on the French side of the channel.
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