This is a slightly hairy, creeping little perennial of woodland, hedgerows and grassy places, sometimes regarded as an invasive weed. Its flowers (15-25mm) are blue-violet and two-lipped, the lower being quite flat and lobed and they have some spots on the lower lip. The flowers are borne in whorls arising from the leaf axis, usually all facing in the same direction. The stalked, kidney shaped leaves are toothed and downy and the plant is aromatic. It's a low-growing wildflower, only reaching to 25cm high. It flowers from March to September, is a native plant and belongs to the family Lamiaceae.
I first identified this plant in Shillelagh, Co Wicklow in 1977 and photographed it in Ballitore, Co Kildare in 1999 and in Gibletstown, Co Wexford in 2005.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
