Its purple, two-lipped tubular flowers are one of the first things to show color in early spring. Many of these early flowers never open completely, and the plant goes merrily about the business of producing seeds by self-pollinating itself undeterred by the weather. Henbit usually grows 6 inches tall and a foot or more across with purple flowers at the ends of the stems in small whorls. The plant usually has only a single point of attachment, but stem rooting occurs later in the spring, making hand removal more difficult. The opposite, much-notched leaves are about the size of a nickel and tightly clasp the square stems.
Lower leaves are long-petioled and have little resemblance to the upper leaves.
Leaf pairs alternate at right angles as they ascend the stem. Henbit is in the mint family and grows as a winter annual in Arkansas. It originated in Eurasia and has now become established as a weed in almost all areas of the US except for a small part of the inner-mountain west. The ornamental Lamiums go under the common name of Spotted Dead Nettles because the leaves are usually blotched with silver and they somewhat resemble the wild nettles. Among the ornamentals is L. maculatum Beacon Silver, which is used as a groundcover in shaded sites.