''Galium album'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s white bedstraw and upright hedge bedstraw, is an annual,

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

of the family

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

and is native to much of Europe.

Description

The stems can grow to at least and are more or less erect with ascending branches. The stem is square in sections with slight

flange A flange is a protruded ridge, lip or rim (wheel), rim, either external or internal, that serves to increase shear strength, strength (as the flange of a steel beam (structure), beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam); for easy attachment/transfer o ...

s. The plant is relatively hairless with shiny leaves and stem. Flowers are white or yellowish.Clapham, A. R., Tutin, T. G. and Warburg, E. F. (1987). ''Excursion Flora of the British Isles.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . p. 302. The fruits are hairless.Michalková, Eleonóra. 1993. Biología, Bot. (Bratislava) 48(1): 48

Distribution and habitat

''Galium album'' is widespread over much of Europe, native to a large region from Britain to Morocco, east to Turkey and Western Siberia. It has been introduced and is naturalized in Ireland, Scandinavia, Greenland and South Australia. It is found in pastures and grassy banks, especially on dry calcareous soils. In Britain, ''G. album'' is local in lowland England, rare in the north, and very rare in Scotland.

Subspecies

Five subspecies were accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

, listed here with their native distributions: *''Galium album'' subsp. ''album'' – most of the range of the species *''Galium album'' subsp. ''amani'' Ehrend. & Schönb.-Tem. – parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey *''Galium album ''subsp. ''prusense'' (K.Koch) Ehrend. & Krendl – Greece, Bulgaria, Crimea, Turkey, and Caucasus *''Galium album'' subsp. ''pycnotrichum'' (Heinr.Braun) Krendl – from Poland south to Greece and Turkey *''Galium album ''subsp''. suberectum'' (Klokov) Michalk. – Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine

References

External links

Index Synonymique de la Flore de FranceAltervista Flora Italiana
{{Taxonbar, from=Q160265

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Flora of Europe Flora of Turkey Flora of Siberia Flora of South Australia Flora of Greenland Flora of Russia Flora of Ukraine Plants described in 1768 Taxa named by Philip Miller