Lamium galeobdolon

Yellow Archangel
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Lamium
Species:	L. galeobdolon
Binomial name
Lamium galeobdolon (L.) Ehrend. & Polatschek
Synonyms
Galeobdolon luteum Huds. Galeopsis galeobdolon L. Lamiastrum galeobdolon (L.) Ehrend. & Polatschek

Lamium galeobdolon, commonly known as yellow archangel, is a widespread wildflower in Europe, and has been introduced elsewhere as a garden plant. It displays the zygomorphic flower morphology, opposite leaves, and square stem typical of the mint family, Lamiaceae. The flowers are soft yellow and borne in axial clusters, with a prominent 'hood' (the dorsal lobe of the corolla). It spreads easily and so has been commonly used as an ornamental ground cover. It can be invasive in places where it is not native and caution must be taken when planting in these areas.^{[citation needed]}

There are a number of closely related taxa which hybridize with L. galeobdolon and in some cases are not unequivocally accepted as distinct species but considered subspecies or varieties by many authors.^{[citation needed]} Most well-known among these is variegated yellow archangel (subsp. argentatum), whose leaves often have variegation, showing as silver patches arranged as a wide semicircle. This, and in particular its large-flowered and even stronger-marked cultivar 'variegatum', is the taxon most often met with as a garden escapee.

Planted for “beauty” as a “robust groundcover”, the variegated yellow archangel can form thick mats within the forest understory, out-competing more valuable food plants like stinging nettle.^{[citation needed]}

Subspecies

• Lamium galeobdolon subsp. argentatum
• Lamium galeobdolon subsp. endtmanii
• Lamium galeobdolon subsp. flavidum
• Lamium galeobdolon subsp. galeobdolon
• Lamium galeobdolon subsp. montanum