Galium spurium L. APNI* Description: Annuals to 30 cm high. Stem angles slender, strongly raised, with tubercle-based retrorsely curved hairs.
Leaves and stipules in whorls of predominately 4–7. Leaves oblanceolate or spathulate, mostly 8–30 mm long, 1–8 mm wide; margins flat or recurved, apex with hyaline tip and terminal hair (sometimes weakly developed).
Inforescences comprising an elongate raceme of cymes, each cyme with 1–3 sometimes 5 flowers, mostly not exceeding the whorls. Flowers with corolla c. 1.2 mm diam. with lobes c. 0.5 mm long, acute cream or greenish, ovary c. circular in outline, covered with tubercle-based hooked hairs.
Fruit of plump mericarps, reniform to subglobose, 1.2–2.3 mm long, blackish-brown or reddish-brown, with tuberculate hairs persisting.
Flowering: Flowers mostly in spring.
Distribution and occurrence: Occurs in western NSW and Victoria, eastern SA and south-western WA. Native to Northern Africa, Europe and Asia. Widely naturalised elsewhere. Grows in woodlands.
NSW subdivisions: *CT, *SWS, *SWP, *SFWP, *NFWP
Other Australian states: *Vic. *S.A. *W.A.
Text by Louisa Murray (September 2011)
Taxon concept: Thompson, I.R. (2009). A revision of Asperula and Galium (Rubieae: Rubiaceae) in Australia. Muelleria 27, p108-109.
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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