The inflorescence of Galeopsis speciosa
English common names for Galeopsis speciosa include large-flowered hempnettle and Edmonton hempnettle. The latter name is almost certainly a reference to the Edmonton area of London, rather than the Canadian city.
Galeopsis speciosa is native to some portion of Eurasia (asserted in one reference as “Eurosiberian Boreo-temperate”), but the extent of its pre-agricultural native range is likely impossible to determine. For example, it is considered an archaeophyte in the British Isles, meaning its introduction to the area predates 1500 CE, and possibly even prehistoric times. Wherever its native origin, the species is now widespread across much of Europe and Russia, where it is primarily associated with cultivated and other human-impacted landscapes.
According to Wikipedia, Galeopsis speciosa is “widespread across Canada”. However, with only 7 records of collection in 4 provinces (with the only collection in one province occurring 65 years ago), that statement seems a bit of a stretch. There is also a claim that the “plant is poisonous, causing paralysis“. That assertion is directly parroted on a number of other web sites; it looks to be based on some Russian works that I’ve not been able to track down. In researching that claim, I discovered some excellent Russian resources:
- AgroAtlas, the Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighbouring Countries. The entry on Galeopsis speciosa goes into some detail on its morphology and economic (weedy) significance.
- Plantarium.ru, a non-commercial effort to document the plants of the former USSR, with a heavy emphasis on photography. The entry on Galeopsis speciosa contains over one hundred images!
The Plantarium.ru site, when translated into English, also gives rough translations of the common names used in the region. The preferred common name is Пикульник красивый, or “beautiful galeopsis”.
Nice to see the photographer has left the bindweed in place rather than clean up the composition. I once found it as an urban weed in central Manchester, unexpectedly beautiful.
The Wikipedia article uses Plants for a Future ( http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Galeopsis+speciosa ) as a reference which in turn quotes their reference as (74), the numbers being collated on one reference page ( http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=174 ). This brings us to the index and thence to vol. XXI (in the 1977 English translation) of the “Flora of the USSR” published in Russian in 1954. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/95140#page/114/mode/1up
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Economic importance. The seeds of G.speciosa (like those of other Galeopsis
species) were used until recently for extraction of oil that had technical applications
(production of drying oil, polish for boots and harness). Experiments have been made
to use the oil for food. It has been found to be tasty, but its consumption causes temporary
paralysis of limbs, especially when the organism is heated by work. A similar effect is produced when Galeopsis seeds occur in large amount in cake fed to livestock. The most effective control measure is to prevent the shedding of mature seed by careful weeding of the crops and, in some places, by mowing. Mowing should be done at the onset of flowering of hempnettle and as close to the ground as possible.
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Looks like a bit of bindweed along with? It gets everywhere that stuff!
Looks like a pansy (Viola) in the genetic woodpile!
Hmmmmm….”tasty, but, its consumption causes temporary paralysis”. Maybe not such a good idea for us plant foragers! I guess I’ll stick with Lamb’s Quarters. LOL
It’s certainly a beautiful plant, though.
Science is beauty expressed as prose,
while beauty is science expressed as poetry.
very often we pass by small beautiful flowers like this without noticing them:((