In early April, the plant species Lamium bifidum, an unusual dead-nettle with white flowers, was observed for the first time in Belgium, Natuurpunt reported on Friday.
The significant discovery was made on 3 April by Elly Vaes, a passer-by and a member of the Botanical Research Group for Nature Conservation. This dead-nettle species was first recorded in the Netherlands in 2020 and does not yet have an official Dutch name.
It is believed to have arrived in Belgium unintentionally, possibly through mud on shoes or car wheels. The presence of more than ten plants at the discovery site suggests that Lamium bifidum has been established for at least a year.
Botanical researcher Filip Verloove from the Meise Botanic Garden confirmed this as the first Belgian sighting, noting its significance.
Apart from three observations in the Netherlands and this one in Belgium, the species is not known outside its original habitat around the Mediterranean.
Though Lamium bifidum resembles the white dead-nettle, it is botanically more related to the hoe nettle (Lamium amplexicaule), a weed with small flowers and a purple-spotted bloom.
Lamium bifidum’s flowers are more striking, white with purple spots, and have a distinct split upper lip, which gives the species its name ‘bifidum’.
This unusual plant’s appearance in Turnhout marks an exciting development in the study of botany in Belgium.
