Glechoma hederacea is a perennial, creeping, colonial herb from slender stolons or shallow rhizomes, rooting at nodes, mat-forming, often semi-evergreen, stem square, 10- 40 cm long, nodes hairy, bases of leaf stalks joined across stem, bruised or cut leaves strongly minty-fragrant.
Leaves opposite, stalk slender, 3-5 cm long, blade rounded, heart to kidney-shaped, 1-4 cm wide, veins palmate at base, margin blunt-toothed.
Flowers blue-purple, tubular, bilateral symmetrical, 1.3-2.3 cm long, two-lipped, 5-lobed, upper lip 1-lobed, tip notched, lower lip 3-lobed, broad with dark purple markings, calyx tubular, hairy, with short, 5 pointed lobes, stamens 4, two long, two short, ovary superior, 4-parted, style purple, 2-branched at tip; flowers in stalkless, axillary clusters; blooms April-June.
Fruit dry, of 4 1-seeded nutlets.
Wetland status: FACU.
Frequency in NYC: Occasional.
Origin: Eurasia.
Habitat: Moist shady disturbed areas, weedy edges, roadsides, lawns. Fairly shade tolerant (Uva et al. 1997).