Weed Information: Galium mollugo (bedstraw, smooth)
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Galium mollugo (bedstraw, smooth)

Family: Rubiaceae

Description

A rhizomatous perennial occurring in the eastern and western United States but currently rare or absent from the Great Plains. The fruits are roughened but not bur-like. The tiny white flowers have 4 pointed petals and the leaves are 6 - 8 per whorl.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
  • Panicle
Number of Petals
  • 4 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
  • United from 25% - 75% length
Petal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • sepals lacking
  • 4 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
  • United from 25% - 75% length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 4 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Inferior (epigynous)
Fruit Type
  • Schizocarp
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Whorled 5 - 8 per node
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Linear or filiform
  • Oblanceolate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
  • Serrate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Antrorsely pubescent
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Scabrous (like sand paper)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Spreading ascending
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
  • 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Ridged
  • Square
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Rhizomatous

US State
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • California
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • Oregon
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Newfoundland
Other
  • District of Columbia
  • St. Pierre and Miquelon
  • Labrador
  • Greenland

  • The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol:83Pg.453
  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 354
  • Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 201
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 412, 413
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1441
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 281
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 62
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 88,302
  • Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 157
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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