Family: Lamiaceae

Common bungleweed is an invasive plant that is native to Europe, northern Africa, southwestern Asia. A report from the New York Times in 1982 warned the public about its aggressive characteristics. The low-growing plant is tough to contain, reproducing by above-ground stolons, viable seeds, and vegetative fragments. Common bungleweed rapidly creeps from cultivated areas to become a persistent weed in lawns and turf areas. The simple act of mowing the lawn is facilities the unintentional spread of both seeds and vegetative fragments. 

Prevention is best with invasive plants. Commonbungle weed should not be planted in Hawaii. 

Description and Dispersal:

• Sprawling perennial herb
  
• Rosettes of spatula-shaped leaves grow to 10 inches
  
• Leaf color is green or purplish
  
• Square stems
  
• Inflorescence forms a dense raceme and is composed of whorls of blue flowers
  
• reproduces from stolons, seeds, and vegetative fragments

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized in non-native regions (e.g., U.S., New Zealand)
  
• Weed in gardens, lawns, and grasslands
  
• Repeatedly introduced as an ornamental
  
• Unpalatable to deer and grazing animals
  
• Host for multiple plant viruses
  
• Spreads vegetatively via stolons
  
• Unintentionally dispersed through garden waste
  
• Intentionally planted as ground cover
  
• Tolerates mowing and cultivation
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Tolerates a wide range of soils and climates

Low Risk Traits:

• Non-toxic to humans and animals
  
• Not parasitic or allelopathic
  
• Not aquatic, climbing, or thicket-forming
  
• Does not increase fire risk
  
• No specialized dispersal (e.g., wind, water, birds)
  
• No evidence of hybridization
  
• Low seed production
  
• Not adapted to tropical climates