Galium mollugo L.
white bedstraw (false baby's breath)
Rubiaceae (Madder family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
white bedstraw (false baby's breath)
Rubiaceae (Madder family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a creeping rhizome; stems prostrate or ascending to erect, several, branched, round, smooth or sometimes short spreading-hairy below, 30-120 cm tall/long.
Leaves:
Basal leaves few, soon deciduous; stem leaves in whorls of 6-8, sometimes 4 on the smaller branches, linear to oblanceolate, 1-3 cm long, 1-veined, short stiff-hairy on the margins, unstalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence loose terminal clusters of many stalked flowers on branchlets in most upper axils; corollas saucer-shaped, whitish, 2-4 mm wide, 4-lobed; calyces obsolete.
Fruits:
Nutlets, 2, 1-1.5 mm long, smooth.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry fields, roadsides and disturbed sites; rare in extreme SW and SC BC; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Galium erectum Huds.
Galium mollugo subsp. erectum (Huds.) Briq.
Galium mollugo var. erectum (Huds.) Domin