Galeopsis angustifolia Red Hemp-nettle

Galeopsis angustifolia
©Trevor Dines/Plantlife

A short but conspicuous plant with a spike of two-lipped red flowers at the top and nettle-shaped leaves below.

It thrives on light sandy or chalky soils in disturbed places such as field margins and other open, sunny places. Its numbers have declined dramatically in the last 60 years.

It used to grow in many parts of southern England and south Wales, but is now found in only a few dozen places. The principal reason for its decline, namely agricultural change, also constitutes the main threat to its future.

Use of fertilisers and herbicides, development of highly productive crop varieties, loss of field margins as well as autumn cultivation patterns which destroy plants before they have shed their seeds, have all taken their toll.

Classified as Critically Endangered and is therefore considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.