According to observations of naturalists and beekeepers.
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It is an herbaceous flowering plant, in the mint family, native to Europe. It is invasive in parts of North America. Grown as a garden plant it provides useful groundcover.
This plant is present in at least 38 states/provinces in this country.
Ajuga reptans is a sprawling perennial herb with erect flowering stems and grows to a height of about 10 to 35 cm (4 to 14 in).
The stems are squarish with hairs on two sides and the plant has runners that spread across the surface of the ground.
The purplish-green, stalked leaves are in opposite pairs.
The leaf blades are hairless and are elliptical or ovate with a rounded tip and shallowly rounded teeth on the margin.
The inflorescence forms a dense raceme and is composed of whorls of blue flowers, each with dark veins on the lower lip. The calyx has five toothed lobes and the corolla forms a two-lipped flower about 14 to 17 mm (0.6 to 0.7 in) long with a short tube. The upper lip of each flower is short and flat with a smooth edge and the lower lip is three-lobed, the central lobe being the largest, flat with a notched tip. There are four stamens, two long and two short, which are longer than the corolla and are attached to the tube. The ovary is superior and the fruit is a schizocarp with four chambers.
Bloom Time: May to June
Cercis canadensis (aka: Eastern redbud, Redbud, Cersis Reniformis)
Aronia arbutifolia (aka: Red chokeberry)
Acer saccharinum (aka: Silver maple, Soft maple)
Salix discolor (aka: Pussy willow, American pussy willow, Glaucous willow, Large pussy willow)
Salix nigra (aka: Black willow, Swamp willow, Southwestern black willow, Gulf black willow, Scythe-leaved willow)
Pyrus communis (aka: European pear, Common pear)
Acer negundo (aka: Boxelder, Western boxelder, Arizona boxelder, California boxelder, Texas boxelder, Interior boxelder, Violet boxelder)
Populus tremuloides (aka: Quaking aspen, Trembling aspen, Aspen, American aspen, Mountain aspen, Golden aspen, Trembling poplar, White poplar, Popple, Alamo Blanco)
Salix lucida (aka: Shining willow, Greenleaf willow, Tail-leaf willow, Whiplash willow, Pacific willow, Lance-leaf willow, Longleaf willow, Red willow, Western shining willow)
Vaccinium angustifolium (aka: Lowbush blueberry, Early low-bush blueberry, Low sweet blueberry)
Prunus cerasus (aka: Sour cherry, Tart cherry, Dwarf cherry, Montmorency cherry)
Prunus pumila (aka: Sandcherry, Western sandcherry, Eastern sandcherry, Great Lakes sandcherry)
Liriodendron tulipifera (aka: Tuliptree, Blue-poplar, Tulip-poplar, Yellow-poplar, Yellow wood)
Salix bebbiana (aka: Bebb willow, Beak willow, Beaked willow, Long-beaked willow, Diamond willow, Chaton, Petit Minou, Smooth Bebb willow)
Ulmus americana (aka: American elm, White elm, Water elm, Soft elm, Florida elm)
Prunus americana (aka: American plum, Goose plum, River plum, Wild plum)
Malus domestica (aka: Pyrus pumila, Malus pumila, Apple)
Acer platanoides (aka: Norway maple)
Acer saccharum (aka: Sugar maple, Rock maple, Hard maple)
