19 Weeds with Purple Flowers (Guide for Foragers)

Last Updated on April 2, 2025

Wondering if those weeds with purple flowers in your yard are friends or foes? Here’s what to know about those intriguing plants and how to use the edible and medicinal purple-flowered weeds, as well as which ones to avoid.

If you have any size garden, you’ve surely found some weeds with purple flowers popping up here and there throughout the season. What you may not have realized is that many of these plants are edible or medicinal. Some of my all-time favorite plants to forage for food and medicine are purple-flowered weeds.

‘Weed,’ of course, is a subjective term. A lot of traditional medicinal plants got a bad rap as weeds in the twentieth century zeal for a manicured grass lawn. (Here’s why that was a terrible idea and why to consider lawn alternatives instead.)

The list below details some of the virtues of these lovely wild plants, as well as tips on using them in your kitchen or home apothecary.

If you’ve got some weeds sporting pinker flowers, you can see if they’re included on my round up of weeds with pink flowers.

FORAGING WILD PLANTS

Before we dive in, it’s critical to remind you that the first rule of foraging is to be sure you’ve correctly identified any plant you intend to consume. While many weeds with purple flowers are edible and medicinal, others aren’t and can make you very ill.

If you don’t already have one, get yourself a thorough and *trustworthy* foraging guide. (Note that far too many foraging books currently available online were written by AI and should be avoided.)

Hands-down, the best foraging book I’ve ever read is Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants. It’s incredibly comprehensive (as well as entertaining). It’s also on the heavy side because it covers so, SO many plants.

Consider some additional foraging books that include fewer plants but add less weight to your backpack when you set out foraging.

Before I pull out any wild plant popping up in the garden, I check to see if it’s edible or medicinal. I’ve come to value numerous edible weeds I’ve found in my garden as bonus crops, including purslane, wild violets, dandelions, and lambs quarters (aka wild spinach).

The more I learn about wild plants and their herbal uses, the more I’m convinced that we should explore the wild plants growing around us for supporting health. Over the years I’ve come to embrace the power of wild herbs like ground ivy (aka creeping Charlie) and edible pine needles for making me feel better when I have a cold or yarrow for staunching bleeding.

If you’re interested in getting to know how to use wild plants medicinally, I highly recommend Rosalee de la Forêt and Emily Han’s excellent book Wild Remedies for guidance on using these wild plants in your home apothecary.

It’s among the many inspiring herbalism books to explore.

WHICH WEEDS WITH PURPLE FLOWERS ARE EDIBLE OR MEDICINAL?

To make this information as useful as possible, I’m going to list these in the order I tend to find them useful, with the most flavorful and medicinal at the top of the list. At the end, you’ll find some purple-flowered weeds that you shouldn’t consume.

1. WILD VIOLETS

Wild violets are lovely wild plants that not only offer us pretty purple flowers early in the growing season, but also medicinally useful leaves that may be harvested throughout the season.

They have mild tasting leaves that are best eaten young. Both flowers and young leaves are nice in salads, and leaves can be used in cooking. They do have a high mucilage content, though, so be aware they can get a little slimy when cooked.

You can use older leaves throughout the season to make wild violet tea, one of numerous foraged wild teas to explore.

Their mucilage content makes them one of many valuable herbs for coughs, whether you brew them in tea, steep them in alcohol for a useful violet tincture, or use them to make a foraged cough syrup.

If you have an abundance of violets, be sure to check out our collection of wild violet recipes for creative ways to put these spring greens to use.

There are dozens more wild herbs to explore if you love the idea of foraging medicinal plants. Or if eating flowers sounds fun, check out these options for dozens more edible flowers.

2. SELF HEAL (PRUNELLA VULGARIS)

Self-heal or heal-all is revered for addressing viruses and wound healing. I keep a self-heal tincture handy for fighting off viruses and if I have extra from my garden will sometimes add them to my foraged wild tea blends, though I don’t find them very flavorful on their own.

A member of the mint family, self-heal is an excellent cooling herb for both internal and external use. In addition to helping sore throats and fighting viral illnesses, self heal can be helpful for outdoor first aid. Try a self-heal poultice for cuts and scrapes.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) uses self-heal for conditions like eye swelling and pain, headaches, and liver support.

You’ll find self-heal with flowers that may be pink or purple, and you’ll see it included in seed mixes for flowering lawns.

If you’re looking for tasty wild edibles, Sam Thayer advises passing on self-heal. He names it “among the poorer leafy greens…only worth mentioning as food because it is so ubiquitous. To be worth eating, the leaves must be collected at their tenderest, from the top of robust stems in spring.”

If you decide to try, Thayer recommends boiling the leaves and draining them before cooking a second time.

So probably best to reserve any self heal you harvest for medicinal puposes. There are loads more tasty edible wild greens to explore.

3. CREEPING BELLFLOWER (CAMPANULA RAPUNCULOIDES)

Creeping bellflower, on the other hand, Thayer counts among the “best kept forager’s secrets.”

He reports that bellflower is one of his “favorite fried greens” and “one of our best cooked root vegetables.”

Creeping bellflower is VERY invasive, producing thousands of seeds per plant. Because its purple flowers are quite attractive, unwitting gardeners leave them and later find their gardens overrun by the tenacious plants. The roots can be tough to eradicate fully, so bellflower can be hard to control. If you see them in flower, at the very least pull up the stems to keep them from setting seed.

Like garlic mustard, foragers are doing the world a favor by taking as much they can.

Here’s info on identifying bellflower from the Minnesota Horticultural Society. They note that you may see our native bellflower (Campunula americana) in the wild as well.

4. GROUND IVY /CREEPING CHARLIE (GLECHOMA HEDERACEA)

One of the most useful wild herbs you can forage, creeping Charlie is abundant in most people’s yards. A member of the mint family, it’s known by herbalists as ground ivy and is a wonderful medicinal plant to get to know. It’s the first thing I turn to for respiratory infections.

Learn more about creeping Charlie uses and you’ll be happily harvesting this aggressive ‘weed’ too!

Some other common plants are often mistaken for creeping Charlie. If you’re unsure about identification, you might want to read more about creeping Charlie lookalikes.

5. DAME’S ROCKET (HESPERIS MATRONALIS)

Another invasive plant, dame’s rocket is also very tasty, including its little flowers, which come in purple, pink, and white. Dam’es rocket is often confused with phlox, which has 5 petaled flowers rather than the 4 petaled blooms you’ll find on dame’s rocket.

A close relative of arugula (also known in many parts of the world as ‘rocket’), dame’s rocket’s younger leaves taste quite a bit like arugula. Older leaves can also be used if you cook them.

I find the flowers less spicy and nice to nibble on their own. They would also look nice on top of a salad.

6. PURPLE DEADNETTLE (LAMIUM PUPUREUM)

Purple dead nettle (also known as red dead nettle) grows in an upright form with distinctive purplish leaves at the top. The pretty purple flowers are abundant in spring. Unlike other plants called nettle (stinging nettle or Canadian wood nettle, for example), purple dead nettle doesn’t have stinging hairs.

Purple dead nettle is another member of the mint family and is both edible and medicinal. The fuzzy leaves can have a spicy flavor and are generally used sparingly in cooked dishes rather than eaten raw.

A valuable medicinal herb, it can be made into tea or tincture that’s thought helpful for addressing seasonal allergies and supporting the immune systerm. It’s also a helpful herb externally, where it can be used as a pultice to soothe irritated skin or stop bleeding.

The Nerdy Farm Wife makes salves and other medicinal preparations with dead nettle. Check out her post with 9 Things to Make with Purple Dead Nettle.

7. HENBIT (LAMIUM AMPLEXICAULE)

Another member of the mint family, henbit is often confused with creeping Charlie (read more about creeping Charlie look alikes if you’re not sure).

It’s a mild-tasting green that can be eaten fresh or cooked. Thayer suggests gathering young leaves and upper stems early in the growing season, but is pretty lukewarm about its flavor

It has historically been used as a medicinal herb for addressing inflammation and fevers. It can be used externally as a poultice to soothe skin irritations, stings, and cuts, similar to the way you’d use plantain.

Ashley at Practical Self Reliance has a guide to foraging henbit if you want to confirm your plant’s identification.

8. BUGLEWEED (AJUGA REPTANS)

Not to be confused with another plant also called bugleweed, Lycopus virginicus, ajuga is a member of the mint family that like other mints is prone to spreading, making it an effective herbal ground cover.

Young leaves and shoots can be eaten raw, and both younger and older leaves can be used in cooked dishes like soups and casseroles. They can be bitter, so check before adding them, and use sparingly.

Ajuga contains anti-inflammatory compounds that are helpful for respiratory infections and wound healing. It has also been used to address thyroid conditions and diabetes.

In Making Plant Medicine, Rico Cech suggests using a poultice or infusion of bugleweed leaves, flowers, and stems externally for pain relief and healing of cuts and stings. He says bugleweed tea may be used to soothe persistent coughs.

9. VIRGINIA WATERLEAF (HYDROPHYLLUM VIRGINIANUM)

Virginia waterleaf is one of the earliest edible wild plants to pop up in my garden each spring. It has mild-tasting leaves that are best eaten when young as they get fuzzier as they age. Unlike lots of other wild greens, Virginia waterleaf isn’t bitter, but it also doesn’t have much flavor on its own. I’ve found it works best in dishes like soups or frittatas along with more flavorful ingredients.

The flower buds are considered a delicacy, and the pink or purple flowers are edible as well. Sam Thayer recommends eating the juicy flower stalks before flowers bloom.

The Menominee, Iroquois, and Ojibwe used Virginia waterleaf for both food and medicine.

Virginia waterleaf self seeds readily, so it’s best to cut back the flowers before they set seed or your garden will be overrun. (Speaking from experience!)

Read more about identifying and using Virginia waterleaf.

10. FIREWEED (CHAMAENERION ANGUSTIFOLIUM)

Fireweed — also known as rosebay willowherb — is another pink to purple flower to keep an eye out for. Fireweed’s shoots, leaves, and flowers are all edible. The shoots are cooked like asparagus, though Thayer finds them astringent and doesn’t recommend them. He reports that the leaves make a good tea, even better when they’re fermented.

Flowers can be used in salads or turned into jelly or syrup. Try this recipe for fireweed jelly from Cosmopolitan Cornbread.

You can find more on identifying fireweed at Practical Self Reliance.

11. PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE

Considered an invasive plant, purple loosestrife has a number of less-known herbal uses. This write-up from Commonwealth Herbs covers a number of its medicinal uses, including addressing respiratory infections, bleeding, and as an antifungal.

Sam Thayer does not recommend the greens, but reports that young shoots and leaves attached to them can work cooked. The purple flowers can add for color to garnishes or herbal teas.

6 Additional Weeds With Purple Flowers:

• Chicory
• Wild geranuium
• Wild phlox
• Spotted knapweed
• Canada thistle
• Speedwell

OTHER PLANTS WITH PURPLE FLOWERS THAT MIGHT BE WEEDY IN YOUR GARDEN

PERIWINKLE (VINCA MINOR)

Though vinca is a common ground cover you’ll see for sale at nurseries and garden centers, it has escaped cultivation and is considered an ‘ecological threat‘ where it’s encroaching on native plant ecosystems.

You’ll see vinca’s attractive purple flowers growing in gardens all over North America.

Though vinca is not considered edible, it does have traditional medicinal uses, including as a sedative for wound healing. A compound derived from vinca called vincamine is used in pharmaceuticals.

BEE BALM (MONARDA FISTULOSA)

Bee balm is a commonly-planted member of the mint family. You’ll find various named cultivars for sale at nurseries, but it’s the native species, Monarda fistulosa, that has purple flowers. It’s also the kind that’s used medicinally.

Sometimes known as bergamot, this fragrant plant emits a lovely odor when its leaves are broken. But don’t be fooled by the name or the scent — its flavor has little in common with the citrus fruit bergamot that you’ll find used to make earl grey tea. The flavor much more strongly resembles oregano, and you can use the leaves fresh or dried in place of oregano in cooking.

A member of the mint family, bee balm spreads easily by rhizomes, so be prepared to pull plants that pop up where you don’t want them. Keep it in check by deadheading flowers before they set seed.

WHICH WEEDS WITH PURPLE FLOWERS ARE POISONOUS?

While the wild plants mentioned above are edible or medicinal, others you may come across decidedly aren’t. The main one to know is bittersweet nightshade, a toxic member of the nightshade family.

BITTERSWEET NIGHTSHADE (SOLANUM DULCAMARA)

Commonly known as bittersweet nightshade, this is one weed with purple flowers you want to avoid. Not to be confused with American bittersweet (which is also toxic), it has attractive purple flowers that grow into appealing — but poisonous — little red berries.

Here’s more on identifying bittersweet nightshade and its more famous (and more toxic) cousin deadly nightshade.

Do you have a favorite purple-flowered weed? If I missed any, please let me know!

Save this info on weeds with purple flowers for later!

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Disclaimers: Though HealthyGreenSavvy and EcoSavvy Writing LLC always aim to provide thorough and accurate information, we assume no liability or responsibility for any consequences, health issues, or symptoms that arise from ingesting or touching any plant described on this website. It is always the reader’s responsibility to ensure accurate plant identification and use multiple reputable sources to confirm. If you have any doubts about the identification of any plant, do not eat it.