Galium polyanthum I.Thomps. APNI* Description: Herbs, densely hairy with slender hairs, rhizomes not seen. Stems with angles slightly to moderately broadened, sometimes as wide as the faces.
Leaves and stipules in whorls of 4, stipules 3/5 to subequal to the length of the leaves below inflorescences, decreasing upwards to be finally <1/3 of leaf length, or absent. Leaves narrow-elliptic or linear-elliptic, 3–25 mm long, 1–6 mm wide; margin recurved or revolute; apex sometimes with a terminal hair.
Inflorescences 2- to 30-flowered, exceeding whorls when mature. Flowers with corolla 1.8–3 mm diam., greenish cream or cream; ovary circular, slightly oblate, 0.2–0.4 mm long, glabrous or hairy.
Fruit dull, smooth; mericarps reniform, c. 1 mm long, 0.6–0.8 mm wide, dark brown, reticulately rugose.
Flowering: Flowers mid–spring to summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Occurs in eastern NSW, and eastern Victoria. Grows in forest often among rocks, particularly on limestone and granite, at low altitudes or more often montane.
NSW subdivisions: CC, NT, ST
Other Australian states: Vic.
There is an 1843 specimen in NSW Herbarium from the Head of Macleay River in far north-eastern NSW collected by Ludwig Leichhardt.
Text by Louisa Murray (August 2011)
Taxon concept: Thompson, I.R. (2009). A revision of Asperula and Galium (Rubieae: Rubiaceae) in Australia. Muelleria 27, p89-90.
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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