Yellow Archangel or False Lamium

Lamiaceae [also known as Labiatae] - Mint Family

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• Form
  • medium-sized, semi-evergreen perennial groundcover ('Variegata') or small herbaceous semi-evergreen perennial ('Herman's Pride'), depending upon cultivar
  • maturing at about 1' tall by 1.5' wide ('Variegata') or 1' tall by 1' wide ('Herman's Pride')
  • either a procumbent mat ('Variegata') or radiating clump ('Herman's Pride') growth habit, depending upon cultivar
  • slow growth rate (of perimeter spread for 'Variegata')

• Culture
  • partial sun to full shade
  • needs a moist, well-drained, rich soil in partial shade for optimum performance; tolerant of heat, occasionally dry soils, average soils, and soils of various pH, but not tolerant of full sun
  • propagated by crown division or rooted stem cuttings
  • Mint Family, with no disease problems, but slug and snail pest problems affect the foliage on occasion
  • moderately available in containers or flats

• Foliage
  • medium to dark green (cultivars are silver-variegated), opposite, ovate, with an acute tip
  • margins may be dentate to serrate ('Herman's Pride') or crenate ('Variegatum')
  • basal leaves have long petioles, while leaves on the upper stems are sessile
  • emerges in March and grows rapidly in April and May
  • entire plant slowly dies back to the ground during Winter (often evergreen in Southern climates)

• Flowers
  • yellow, with a "hooded" upper petal and "lipped" lower petal that are characteristic of the Mint family
  • flowering in April and May and sporadically thereafter
  • numerous clusters of small flowers occur at the stem nodes and also at the stem termini

• Fruits
  • brown and ornamentally inconspicuous

• Twigs
  • stems are square, somewhat pubescent, and green

• Trunk
  • not applicable

• ID Summary
  • for 'Herman's Pride", the silver-variegated, ovate, sharply dentate and acuminate leaves are oppositely borne on upright stems, with sharp demarcations between the green veins and the silver leaf; this cultivar is a clump perennial with yellow Spring flowers
  • for 'Variegatum', the silver-variegated, ovate, crenate leaves are oppositely borne on trailing stems, with the variegation blending diffusely into the green veins; this cultivar is a groundcover with yellow Spring flowers

• Function
  • edging, border, foundation, or facer groundcover ('Variegata'), or clump perennial ('Herman's Pride'), used especially in shaded areas

• Texture
  • medium texture
  • thick density

• Assets
  • dense silver-variegated foliage, found as a mounding to spreading groundcover or clump perennial, depending upon cultivar
  • yellow Spring flowers

• Liabilities
  • the groundcover form may become slowly invasive by stolons or rambling stems
  • the groundcover form attracts leaf litter in late Autumn and Winter
  • slugs and snails may be cosmetic pests to the foliage

• Habitat
  • zones 5 to 8
  • native to Europe

• Alternates
  • other groundcovers for shady sites, especially those known for their variegated or semi-evergreen foliage (Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum', Galium odoratum, Lamium maculatum, Liriope muscari, Pachysandra terminalis, Vinca minor 'Ralph Shugert', etc.) or noted for their yellow Spring flowers (Ranunculus repens, Walsteinia fragarioides, etc.)
  • partial shade perennials noted for their variegated foliage (Heuchera cultivars, Hosta cultivars, Pulmonaria saccharata, etc.)

• Variants
  • Lamiastum galeobdolon 'Herman's Pride' - a clump perennial that has sharply acuminate leaf apices and toothed margins, silver foliage with dark green veination, and a compact sphere growth habit, maturing at about 1' tall by 1' wide
  • Lamiastrum galeobdolon 'Variegatum' - more rounded and crenate leaves having silver variegation mottled with medium green; the typical groundcover form that looks viney, maturing at about 1' tall by 1.5' wide for an individual plant, but usually planted in masses for a rambling groundcover effect

• Translation
  • Lamiastrum translates as "resembling Lamium", a similar-looking groundcover also in the Mint Family
  • galeob translates as "to cover with a helmet," possibly referring to the upper flower petal, while dolon translates as "a fly's sting," with uncertain meaning
  • this species is also known (or formerly known) by the scientific names of Lamium galeobdolon and Galeobdolon luteum

• Purpose
  • Yellow Archangel is a shade-loving, yellow-flowering, silver-variegated groundcover or perennial.

• Summary
  • Lamiastrum galeobdolon is known for its dense silver-green mounding or mat-forming foliage, yellow Spring flowers, and groundcover or perennial usage in the shady landscape.