April 21: Purple Dead Nettle: Use it in smoothies!

For this blog I must give creds to the Flowers Forum  http://www.flowersforums.com/  which was able to identify something that I could not find in any book. I'm discovering that if you can't find a flower in a book, it's probably considered a weed. So this one is, although it's quite beautiful when you look at it closely.

Purple Dead Nettle

It's called Purple Dead Nettle -- "Dead" because it doesn't have nettles to sting you. It's a mint plant, which you can tell because the stems are square. 

The entire plant is edible and is reported to be abundant in iron, vitamins, and fiber. The oil in the seeds is high in antioxidants. And the bruised leaves can be applied to cuts to stop bleeding.

Since the plant is a bit  hairy, other wildflower bloggers recommend putting in in smoothies. I bet it makes the drink look pretty! Here's more about how to make a smoothie from it. http://eatingmymoccasinsnow.blogspot.com/2009/02/dead-nettle-lamium-purpureum.html