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Ground Ivy

Ground Ivy

Glechoma hederacea

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How common: Very common

Alien species

Ground Ivy is a low, creeping perennial that spreads by long runners and forms mats. It has blue‑violet, lipped flowers and round, scalloped leaves. You’ll often see it in gardens, lawns, along paths and roadsides, and on the edges of light woods.

Did you know?

  • Many of its leaves stay green through winter.
  • The dry fruits turn sticky when wet, helping them cling and spread.

About the species

Identification

Low, creeping plant with long runners that root where they touch the ground; flowering shoots rise 5–30 cm. Stems are four‑sided, often reddish and softly hairy. Leaves grow in pairs on stalks; almost round to kidney‑ or heart‑shaped with scalloped edges, slightly hairy and often a bit purplish beneath. Flowers blue to violet, about 1–2 cm long, with a short upper lip and a three‑lobed lower lip marked with darker spots; in small clusters where leaves meet the stem. Seeds form in four small pieces that become sticky when wet. Can be confused with bugle (Ajuga reptans), which has upright clumps and no long rooting runners. Flowers in Finland from May to June.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

yards and roadsides

Flowering

May–Jun

About the habitat

Prefers moist, nutrient‑rich soil in gardens, lawns, roadsides, waste ground and the edges of rich, light woods; often around settlements. Also grown as a groundcover and sometimes escapes from cultivation. Common in southern Finland, becoming scarce northwards up to central Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glechoma hederacea, Hondsdraf (1).jpg

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39493

Text: Pinkka: Viheralueiden kasvit - Perennat ja ryhmäkasvit: 2-sirkkaiset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39493

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39493

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Gagea-Hepatica, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39493

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39493

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maahumala

See also