Ajuga decumbens

Ajuga decumbens is a low, creeping perennial herb of the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam, where it grows in moist grassy slopes, field margins, roadsides and open woodland at low to moderate elevations. The plant produces decumbent to ascending stems that root at the nodes, forming spreading mats. Its leaves are obovate to spatulate, often tinged purplish, with crenate margins and a sparsely hairy surface, arranged in a basal rosette and along the stems. The small bilabiate flowers, borne in axillary whorls forming a leafy spike, are typically pale blue to violet, with a reduced upper lip and a prominent three-lobed lower lip. Flowering occurs in spring. The whole herb is finely pubescent. It is an adaptable plant of disturbed, seasonally moist ground and is widely distributed as a common weed of cultivated and waste places throughout its range.