Galium serpenticum

Galium serpenticum is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) known by the common name intermountain bedstraw or many-flowered bedstraw.

Galium serpenticum
female flower
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Galium
Species:
G. serpenticum
Binomial name
Galium serpenticum
Dempster

Range

Galium serpenticum is native to the northwestern United States, where it grows in dry mountain forests and meadows, mostly east of the crest of the Cascade Range. It occurs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and extreme northern California (Trinity, Siskiyou and Modoc Counties).[1][2] In the Wenatchee Mountains it is sometimes found on serpentine soils.[3]

Description

Galium serpenticum is a perennial herb forming tufts of erect stems up to about 30 centimeters tall with woody bases. The stems are ringed with whorls of four lance-shaped leaves and topped with inflorescences made up of clusters of small pale yellow to whitish flowers.[4][5] It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.[6] Male and female flowers both have 4 small pale yellow to yellow-green petals, and female flowers have a prominent tuft of long spreading hairs protruding beneath the petals.[5]

Subspecies

Nine subspecies are currently recognized (May 2014):[1]

References

  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Biota of North America Program
  3. "Galium serpenticum". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  4. Lauramay T. Dempster. 1959. Brittonia 11(3): 120โ€“121, f. 1D, 3โ€“4
  5. Cronquist, A.J., A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren & Reveal. 1977. Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. 6: 1โ€“584. In A.J. Cronquist, A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren, J. L. Reveal & P. K. Holmgren (eds.) Intermountain Flora. Hafner Pub. Co., New York.
  6. Jepson Manual Treatment


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