Ajuga reptans L.

Carpet Bugle; Bugleweed; Blue Bugle

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Bugleweed is an introduced herbaceous evergreen perennial in the Mint family (Lamiaceae). It is native to Europe. In Alabama it is commonly cultivated and can be found as an escape statewide. It occurs in urban woodlands, along streams, on roadsides, near old home sites, in lawns, and in low pastures. It is a perennial with a fibrous root system. Plants form rosettes interconnected by stolons forming a solid groundcover. Stolons and stems are square and pubescent in lines. Leaves are petiolate, opposite, elliptic to oblanceolate in outline, slightly pubescent, with crenate margins. The leaves may be green or burgundy in color. Flowers are produced in a leafy-bracteate thyrse. The calyx is campanulate and 5-lobed. The corolla is 2-lipped with the upper lip 2-lobed and the lower lip 3-lobed. There are 4 stamens-2 long and 2 short. The flowers are blue or white in color. The fruit is a mericarp. Bugleweed has been used in herbal medicine to stop bleeding and as a tea for disorders of the respiratory tract. Bugleweed is available from many nurseries and is used primarily as a ground cover or planted among rocks. It prefers partial shade and an organic rich moist soil. Numerous cultivars are available with variously colored foliage. Ajuga spreads aggressively via stolons and has the potential to be invasive especially in moist, wooded areas. --A. Diamond

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Not Native

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