White bedstraw

Galium album

"Galium album", the white bedstraw or hedge bedstraw, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Rubiaceae.
white bedstraw  Galium album,Geotagged,Italy,Spring,White bedstraw

Appearance

The stems can grow to at least 150 cm and are more or less erect with ascending branches. The stem is square in section with slight flanges. The plant is relatively hairless with shiny leaves and stem. Flowers are white or yellowish. The fruit are hairless.

Naming

Four subspecies are currently recognized:

⤷ "Galium album" subsp. "album" - most of the range of the species
⤷ "Galium album "subsp". prusense" Ehrend. & Krendl - Greece, Bulgaria, Crimea, Turkey, Caucasus
⤷ "Galium album" subsp. "pycnotrichum" Kren - from Poland south to Greece and Turkey
⤷ "Galium album "subsp". suberectum" Michalk - Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine

Distribution

"Galium album" is widespread over much of Europe, being native to a large region from Britain to Morocco, east to Turkey and Western Siberia. It is naturalized in Ireland, Scandinavia, Greenland and South Australia.

Habitat

It is found in pastures, grassy banks, etc., especially on dry calcareous soils. In Britain, "G. album" is local in lowland England, rare in the north and very rare in Scotland.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderGentianales
FamilyRubiaceae
GenusGalium
SpeciesG. album
Photographed in
Italy