Blue bugle

Ajuga genevensis, the blue bugle or upright bugle, is a stoloniferous to non-stoloniferous perennial herb in the family Lamiaceae native to most of Europe and western Asia. Unlike its more common relative A. reptans, this species lacks creeping above-ground runners and instead spreads gradually by short underground rhizomes. Plants reach 10-40 cm in height, with erect, four-angled, hairy stems clothed in long shaggy white hairs. Basal leaves are oblanceolate to obovate, 3-8 cm long, with coarsely toothed or shallowly lobed margins and a tapering base, sometimes withering at flowering time; stem leaves are smaller, sessile, and three-lobed or coarsely toothed. The inflorescence is a dense terminal pseudo-spike of whorled flowers subtended by leafy bracts that are often tinged blue or violet. Flowers are bright blue, occasionally pink or white, two-lipped, 12-18 mm long, with a much-reduced upper lip and a prominent three-lobed lower lip. Flowering occurs from May to July. The fruit consists of four small nutlets enclosed in the persistent calyx. The species favors dry calcareous grasslands, light open woodland, scrubby slopes, and roadside banks.