E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Galeopsis tetrahit L.
hemp-nettle (brittlestem hempnettle)
Lamiaceae (Mint family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Jamie Fenneman  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #14580)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Galeopsis tetrahit
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Species Information

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General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect, 20-80 cm tall, coarse, branched when well developed, 4-angled, bristly-hairy, including red-tipped glandular-hairs, below nodes.
Leaves:
Opposite, egg-shaped to lanceolate, 3-10 cm long, 1-5 cm wide, coarsely blunt-toothed, tips pointed, bases rounded or wedge-shaped, stiff-hairy; stalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of several dense axillary flower clusters, subtended by upper leaves; corollas tubular, purple or pink or white with dark markings, 15-23 mm long, the upper lip arched and entire, the lower 3-lobed, spreading, the middle lobe flat, entire, often nearly as wide as long, bearing 2 nipple-like protuberences on the upper side near base, its network of dark markings restricted to the base, not reaching the margins; calyces about 1 cm long at flowering, somewhat larger in fruit, the erect spine-tipped teeth about equaling tube, the tube strongly 5-ribbed, hairy within; stamens 4, anthers hairy.
Fruits:
Nutlets, 4 clustered together, egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long, smooth.
Notes:
Galeopsis tetrahit originated from G. pubescens Bess. and G. speciosa Mill. by hybridization and polyploidy. The species may have arisen more than once, and may owe some of its variability to various origins.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist to mesic waste places and forest margins in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent throughout BC south of 56degreeN; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Galeopsis tetrahit

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 38 817 1310
Slope Gradient (%) 0 5 28
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
40 148 208
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 5 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
14
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: CWH(1), ICH(3), IDF(4), MS(1), SBS(3)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References