Decumbent bugle is a low, ground-hugging member of the mint family from East Asia, with purplish-green leaves and small deep-purple flowers in spring. It is native to China, Japan, and Korea and isn't known to grow wild in the US, where the ajuga you are much more likely to meet is carpet bugle, a European groundcover.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A flat groundcover. The leaves usually stay under 4 in (10 cm) tall, and the flowering stems are mostly 2–6 in (5–15 cm) tall, occasionally up to 8 in (20 cm).
- Leaves
- Purplish-green leaves spread in a rosette pressed against the ground.
- Flowers
- Small two-lipped flowers, usually deep purple, sit in the leaf joints along the short stems.
- Flowering time
- April to June in its native range.
- Fruit
- Each flower leaves four small inside the calyx.
Look-alikes
Carpet bugleAjuga reptans
Carpet bugle spreads by surface runners and holds its blue flowers in dense spikes on stalks 4–6 in (10–15 cm) tall. Decumbent bugle's flowers sit in the leaf joints of low, spreading stems instead of forming a tall spike.
Why they get mixed upBoth are low ajugas with purplish leaves and blue-purple spring flowers.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Meadows
- Roadsides
- Open woods
- Range
- Native to China, Japan, and Korea. It has not been recorded growing wild in the US.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows in sunny, lightly wooded spots such as meadows and roadsides, from about 1,300 to 7,500 ft (400–2,300 m).
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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