Woo hoo, this is one tiny little flower!! I was trying to get pictures of these in bud form and kept failing. I also didn't realize at the time that the fuzzy buds weren't a strange little flower because I kept seeing them dead and fallen out. Now I understand that the morning frost was killing the buds, and that's why they weren't developing into flowers. Today I checked them and suddenly everything became clear to me! I discovered that one was in full bloom, with many close behind, and my original suspicion proved to be correct: this was a kind of Deadnettle I'd never seen before! It's much smaller than the Purple Deadnettle featured last spring as #40 in my flower count, but its flowers are unmistakable! (Please scroll down to see a close up of one of the opening buds, isn't it lovely and strange looking?! It's like a slipper! I also included a picture of the Purple Deadnettle flower to compare.
From Wikipedia:
Henbit Deadnettle is a species of Lamium native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. It is a low-growing annual plant growing to 10-25 cm tall, with soft, finely hairy stems. The leaves are opposite, rounded, 2-3 cm diameter, with a lobed margin. The flowers are pink to purple, 1.5-2 cm long. It flowers very early in the spring even in northern areas, and for most of the winter and the early spring in warmer areas such as the Mediterranean region. It propagates freely by seed and is regarded as a minor weed. Sometimes entire fields will be reddish-purple with its flowers before spring plowing. Where common, is an important nectar and pollen plant for bees, especially honeybees, where it helps start the spring buildup. It is widely naturalised in eastern North America and elsewhere, where it is often considered to be an invasive weed. However, its edibility and readiness to grow in many climes often mean it is permitted to grow when other 'weeds' are not. The leaves, stem, and flowers of the plant are edible and are faintly reminiscent of spinach. The specific name refers to the amplexicaul leaves (leaves grasping the stem).
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