Galium saxatile

Heath bedstraw
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Genus:	Galium
Species:	G. saxatile
Binomial name
	Galium saxatile; L.
Synonyms
	Galium hercynicum Weigel

Galium saxatile or heath bedstraw^[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is related to cleavers.

Galium saxatile is a perennial mat-forming herb, found on grassland, moors, heaths and woods. It can reach a height of 20 centimetres (7.9 in), and flowers in the UK from May to August. The stems are hairless and four sided. Its leaves are 8–25 millimetres (0.31–0.98 in) long, with 6–8 per whorl, and are lanceolate or obovate in shape. The mountain ringlet butterfly uses the plant for nectar.^[2]^[3]

Galium saxatile avoids calcareous substrate and mainly grows on light siliceous soils^[4]^[5] and is widespread across much of northern and central Europe from Portugal and Ireland to Scandinavia, France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Russia. It is also reportedly sparingly naturalized in Quebec, California and the Falkland Islands.^[6]^[7]

Gallery

References

^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
^ "Heath Bedstraw Galium saxatile". Postcode plants database. London: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
^ Biota of North America Project
^ Tansley, A. G. (1917). "On Competition Between Galium Saxatile L. (G. Hercynicum Weig.) and Galium Sylvestre Poll. (G. Asperum Schreb.) On Different Types of Soil". Journal of Ecology. 5 (3/4): 173–179. doi:10.2307/2255655. ISSN 0022-0477.
^ Mirek, Zbigniew; Piękoś-Mirkowa, Halina (1984). "Distribution and habitats of Galium saxatile L. in the Carpathian Mountains". Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 53 (3): 419–427. doi:10.5586/asbp.1984.037. ISSN 2083-9480.
^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
^ Altervista Flora Italiana

The Wild Flower Key British Isles – NW Europe by Francis Rose
Wild Flowers of Britain by Roger Phillips

External links

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[BSBI07-1] BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.

[nathistmus-2] "Heath Bedstraw Galium saxatile". Postcode plants database. London: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 19 August 2013.

[3] Biota of North America Project

[4] Tansley, A. G. (1917). "On Competition Between Galium Saxatile L. (G. Hercynicum Weig.) and Galium Sylvestre Poll. (G. Asperum Schreb.) On Different Types of Soil". Journal of Ecology. 5 (3/4): 173–179. doi:10.2307/2255655. ISSN 0022-0477.

[5] Mirek, Zbigniew; Piękoś-Mirkowa, Halina (1984). "Distribution and habitats of Galium saxatile L. in the Carpathian Mountains". Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 53 (3): 419–427. doi:10.5586/asbp.1984.037. ISSN 2083-9480.

[6] Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

[7] Altervista Flora Italiana

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