It nods and curtseys and recovers
     When the wind blows above,
The nettle on the graves of lovers
     That hanged themselves for love.

The nettle nods, the winds blows over,
     The man, he does not move,
The lover of the grave, the lover
     That hanged himself for love.

Alfred Edward Housman

Dead Nettle is named for the way it resembles Stinging Nettle but has no sting. Its flowers are nearly identical to Henbit, but they are easy to distinguish by their leaves.  Dead Nettle's leaves are triangular-shaped with smaller teeth than Henbit. Its leaves overlap each other in diminishing size columns on four sides of the stem, making the plant's overall shape roughly that of a tapering square.

Because the flowers are half hidden, tucked into the overlapping leaves, it does not make a colorful display in masses as Henbit does.

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