Ground Ivy — Positive ID

Lookalikes to Know

• Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) and Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum): The reliable field test: growth habit, not leaf shape or flower color. Ground ivy is a true creeping perennial that roots at its nodes as it spreads — pull up a strand and you'll find roots at intervals along it, forming a running mat. Henbit and purple dead nettle are small upright annuals that grow low in clumps but never root along the stem; pulling one up gives a single root, not a rooted runner. Secondary check if growth habit is ambiguous: ground ivy's leaves stay uniformly round/kidney-shaped on petioles the whole way up the plant. Henbit's upper leaves specifically clasp the stem directly with no petiole at all (a visible "collar" around the stem) — the single most distinctive henbit-only feature. Purple dead nettle's upper leaves stay petiolated like ground ivy's, but turn more triangular/heart-shaped with a purplish flush, which ground ivy's don't. Ground ivy also has a notably stronger, more pungent crushed-leaf smell than either lookalike's milder herbaceous scent.