Ajuga reptans L.

Bugle, blue bugle, bugleherb, bugleweed, carpetweed, carpet bugleweed, common bugle

About plant names...

Carpet-bugle is a European native, grown as a groundcover and now naturalized in North America. In some areas it is considered an invasive. It prefers damp grassy fields, and damp woods. There are many cultivars.

Identification: Carpet-bugle forms loose mats. Plants are 6-9" (15-22 cm) in height. Leaves are dark green with purple highlights, opposite, and simple, sometimes toothed. Flowers are blue, appearing from May to Jun.

Edibility: Poison . Said to be hallucinogenic, and has caused fatalities.

Ajuga reptans. Jan Kops (1765–1849); illustrated by Christiaan Sepp, Flora Batava, Vol. 1, The Hague, 1800

4/3/2009 · Memphis, Ten­nes­see · By Tim Chandler

5/20/2014 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 5 × 6" (12 × 14 cm)

3/29/2008 · Memphis, Ten­nes­see · By Tim Chandler

Some similar species:

	You are here Ajuga reptans	Glechoma hederacea	Lamium purpureum
Common Name	bugle	ground-ivy	purple dead-nettle
Plant	Forms loose mats. Plants are 6-9" (15-22 cm) in height.	Often only 3" (7.6 cm) tall, it sometimes reaches 12" (30 cm). Extends horizontally, hence the term “ivy.”	4-16" (10-40 cm) high, and somewhat hairy.
Flowers	Blue, appearing from May to Jun.	Flowers are blue, purple, or lavender, occurring in groups of 3. The flower shape is unusual. A small upper petal is divided into two lobes. A larger lower petal has a lobe on either side, and a large bottom lobe that is divided into two more lobes. Each flower is ⅜-½" (9.5-12 mm) across.	Flowers are ¼-¾" (6.3-19 mm), appearing from Mar to Oct. They are pink to red to purple in color.
Leaves	Dark green with purple highlights, opposite, and simple, sometimes toothed.	Round or kidney-shaped, with scalloped edges, ⅜-1¼" (9.5-31 mm) in diameter.	Toothed, round or kidney-shaped, deeply and irregularly veined, and ¼-1¼" (6.3-31 mm). Each stem node has two opposite leaves, and each succeeded pair is rotated 90° from the last. Upper, younger leaves often have a red-violet tinge.
Stem		Square in cross-section.	Stems are 4-angled and glabrous.
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 3-10
Habitats	Damp grassy fields, damp woods.	Moist ground, woods, slopes, roadsides, waste places, lawns	Fields, weedy places, gardens.
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence	Common	Common	Common

	Prunella vulgaris
Common Name	common selfheal
Plant	1¾-16" (5-40 cm) high, usually toward the small end of this. It is often found in lawns.
Flowers	On spikes at the top. They look uneven and disheveled because they don’t bloom all at once. Each flower is about ⅜" (1 cm) around, purple on top and white below, and bilaterally symmetrical.
Leaves	Up to 2" (6 cm) × ¾" (2 cm), oval or sometimes lance-shaped, on fairly long petioles (leaf stems).
Stem	Approximately square in cross section, green or reddish, and lightly to densely hairy.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Fields, roadsides, weedy area, open woods
Type	Wild
Occurrence	Common

Online References:

Ajuga reptans on

Ajuga reptans on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Ajuga reptans at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Ajuga reptans on Wikipedia

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 48

5/18/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Wildflower Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4½ × 6" (12 × 15 cm)

Ajuga reptans description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Sep 2020.

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Range: Zones 3-10:

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