Rubiaceae . . . . . Bedstraw family
Choose closest flower colour:
Flowers pink(ish):
Flowers yellow (or greenish)
Asperula . . . . . Squinancywort
Asperula cynanchica . . . . . Squinancywort
On limestone and calcareous grassland in S Br; leaves opposite
Cruciata . . . . . Crosswort
Cruciata laevipes . . . . . Crosswort
N Br
Galium . . . . . Bedstraws
Choose from leaf shapes:
Galium spp.:
See also:
Galium album . . . . . . Hedge bedstraw
Well-drained soils in most of BI, but rare in Sc, Wa and Ire; corolla lobes pointed; 5-8 broad lvs per whorl;
Galium aparine . . . . . Cleavers
Common; very sticky as a result of hooked prickles
Galium boreale . . . . . Northern bedstraw
Four narrow stiff leaves at each whorl; mostly in Northern Britain
Galium odoratum . . . . . Woodruff
Base-rich woods and hedgerows; flower with long tube; broad leaves in dense whorls of c.8 lvs
Galium palustre . . . . . Marsh bedstraw
Thin marsh plant; lvs without sharp point; common
Galium uliginosum . . . . . Fen bedstraw
Scattered in base-rich fens exc. NW Sc and much of Ire; thin marsh plant; lvs with point at tip
Galium saxatile . . . . . Heath bedstraw
Common heath plant; stems smooth, lf margins with forward prickles
Galium sterneri . . . . . Limestone bedstraw
On limestone/mountains in NW Br; lf margins with some v. small backward prickles
Galium verum . . . . . Lady's bedstraw
Widespread on dry grassy places esp. on calcareous soils or near the sea
Rubia . . . . . Madder
Rubia peregrina . . . . . Madder
A coarse, leathery plant; locally common in S & W Br, CI and S Ire
Sherardia . . . . . Field madder
Sherardia arvensis . . . . . Field madder
On arable fields, grassland and lawns; leaves in whorls
