Plant of the Week: Henbit

A lot has changed in the years since I last blogged.  I'm editing my PhD dissertation while living in Texas now, we moved here for my husband's job two years ago.  I also have two daughters, ages 3 years (Big Sis) and 18 months (Little Sis).

It's a new year, and I have two new year's resolutions.  One is to defend my dissertation.  The other is to find ways to advance my knowledge as a botanist.  In the latter pursuit, I've decided to dust off the old blog and highlight a Plant of the Week.  By the end of the year, I hope to have explored and shared information on 52 plants.  We'll see how I do!  If you read this, feel free to post a response.


This week, the plant of interest is Lamium amplexicaule.

(image from George Thomas on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hz536n/25372759130/)

The common name that I learned for this weedy herb is Henbit.  It grows abundantly in my backyard in Texas right now, with little purple flowers that add a touch of color to our lawn.

My family also saw it in bloom in the lawn at the Mission San Jose when we visited San Antonio last week: https://www.nps.gov/saan/learn/historyculture/sanjosehistory1.htm

I learned recently that Henbit is edible, from my friend Mark with Foraging Texas: http://www.foragingtexas.com/2009/12/henbit.html

(image taken from Merriwether Adventurer on flikr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/16402403@N00/24079719211)

So I tasted henbit.  And so did my daughters.  It's moist and delicious, with a little bite.  As with all food, Little Sis enjoys nibbling on it, and is excited to find it when we're out and about, but the more picky Big Sis doesn't much care for the taste.  She likes how easy it is to spot, though - she points it out from 10+ feet away!