Fragrant Bedstraw

(Galium triflorum)

 

   

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Fragrant Bedstraw (Galium triflorum Michx.)

Identification: Flowers white or greenish-white, small, with 4 pointed petals. Flowers on long flower stalks (pedicels) and in groups of 3. Fruit with hooked spines. Stem smooth, square, without hooked spines. Stem weak, prostrate on the ground or climbing on other plants. Leaves mostly in whorls of 6, ovate elongate.

Distribution: Throughout almost all of North America. Also native to Europe and Asia.

Habitat: Fragrant Bedstraw is found in a variety of forest types.

Flowering period: June to August.

Similar Species: Rough Bedstraw, another species with leaves in whorls of 6 has recurved spines on the stems.

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