Galium

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Galium
Flowers February 2008-4.jpg
Flowers of Galium aparine
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Subfamily: Rubioideae
Tribe: Rubieae
Genus: Galium
L.
Diversity
c. 650, see text

Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some species are informally known as bedstraw. [1]

Contents

There are over 600 species of Galium, [2] with estimates of 629 [3] to 650 [4] as of 2013. The field madder, Sherardia arvensis , is a close relative and may be confused with a tiny bedstraw. Asperula is also a closely related genus; some species of Galium (such as woodruff, G. odoratum ) are occasionally placed therein.

Genetic variability

The phenotypic plasticity and genetic variability of this species allows it to be constantly shifting to best fit its environment adjusting life cycles, seed germination, productivity, growth form, freezing tolerance, etc. [5] Herbicides at the recommended amount is not effective enough to decrease catchweed bedstraw biomass or population, twice the amount is needed. [6]

As invasive species

Cattle and other livestock don't often feed on this plant making it thrive and dominating over other species. G. mollugo in particular, is a thriving invasive species since it can go in and dominate in areas where other alien species wouldn't be able to, growing very fast in best conditions. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Galium verum</i> Species of plant

Galium verum is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is naturalized in Tasmania, New Zealand, Canada, and the northern half of the United States. It is considered a noxious weed in some places.

<i>Galium triflorum</i> Species of plant

Galium triflorum is a herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread in northern Europe, eastern Asia, the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, and North America. The plant is considered a noxious weed in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

<i>Galium album</i> Species of plant

Galium album, the white bedstraw or hedge bedstraw, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Rubiaceae.

<i>Galium mollugo</i> Species of plant

Galium mollugo, common name hedge bedstraw or false baby's breath, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It shares the name hedge bedstraw with the related European species, Galium album.

<i>Galium palustre</i> Species of plant

Galium palustre, the common marsh bedstraw or simply marsh-bedstraw, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Rubiaceae. This plant is widely distributed, native to virtually every country in Europe, plus Morocco, the Azores, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Western Siberia, Greenland, eastern Canada, St. Pierre & Miquelon, and parts of the United States. The species is classified as a noxious weed in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. It is considered naturalized in Kamchatka, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.

<i>Galium boreale</i> Species of flowering plant

Galium boreale or northern bedstraw is a perennial plant species of the Rubiaceae family. It is widespread over the temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America including most of Canada and the northern United States.

<i>Galium saxatile</i> Species of plant

Galium saxatile or heath bedstraw is a plant species of the genus Galium. It is related to cleavers.

<i>Galium spurium</i> Species of plant

Galium spurium, the stickwilly or false cleavers, is a plant species of the Rubiaceae. It is widespread across Europe, Asia, Africa and Canada, and is naturalized in Australia. It is considered a noxious weed in many places.

Galium sterneri or limestone bedstraw is a plant species of the Rubiaceae. It is native to northern Europe.

<i>Galium sylvaticum</i> Species of plant

Galium sylvaticum, commonly known as Scotch mist or wood bedstraw, is a plant species of the genus Rubiaceae. Its genus name, Galium, is derived from the Greek word for "milk," apparently because some species have been used to curdle milk.

<i>Galium aparine</i> Species of flowering plant

Galium aparine, with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed, robin-run-the-hedge, goosegrass,and sticky willy, is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae.

<i>Cecidophyes</i> Genus of mites

Cecidophyes is a genus of mites in the family Eriophyidae. It is a plant parasite, causing galls or other damage to the plant tissues.

Galium argense is a plant species in the Rubiaceae. It is endemic to California and native to Inyo and San Bernardino Counties. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.

<i>Galium concinnum</i> Species of plant

Galium concinnum, known as the shining bedstraw, is a herbaceous perennial plant species in the Rubiaceae family. It is native to the Midwestern United States and central Canada, especially the Great Lakes Region and the Valleys of the Ohio, lower Missouri, and upper Mississippi Rivers. It is commonly found in deciduous forests and forest edges. It grows low to the ground in natural habitats. Although it is not an invasive species, it can be very weedy. It is typically not cultivated.

Galium leptogonium is a plant species in the family Rubiaceae. Common name is rock bedstraw. It is found only in Australia but widespread there, found in every state except Tasmania.

<i>Galium obtusum</i> Species of flowering plant

Galium obtusum, the bluntleaf bedstraw, is a herbaceous plant species in the family Rubiaceae. Bluntleaf bedstraw is a wildflower native to eastern North America.

Galium orizabense is a species of plants in the family Rubiaceae, named for the town of Orizaba in Veracruz, where the first collections of the species were made. The species is native to Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panamá, Venezuela, Colombia, and Hispaniola, plus widely scattered locations in the southeastern United States.

<i>Galium stellatum</i> Species of plant

Galium stellatum, the starry bedstraw or desert bedstraw, is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Arizona, and found also in Baja California, Baja California Sur, southeastern California, Nevada, Utah. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.

<i>Galium tinctorium</i> Species of plant

Galium tinctorium, the stiff marsh bedstraw, is a species of plants in the Rubiaceae. It is widespread and common across the eastern part of North America, from Texas to Labrador and from Minnesota to Florida, plus eastern and central Mexico and the Dominican Republic. It is classed as a noxious weed in some parts of the northeastern United States.

References

  1. Galium. USDA PLANTS.
  2. Galium. Flora of China.
  3. "WCSP". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  4. Galium. The Jepson eFlora 2013.
  5. Taylor, K. (1999), Galium aparine L.. Journal of Ecology, 87: 713-730. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.1999.00381.x
  6. Mennan, H., Streibig, J. C., Ngouajio, M., & Cankaya, S. (2011). Response of two catchweed bedstraw (Galium aparine) populations to post-emergence herbicides in winter wheat. International Journal of Pest Management, 57(4), 347–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/09670874.2011.622085
  7. The biology of Canadian weeds. 121. Galium mollugo L. D. Mersereau and A. DiTommaso Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA 14853, 2002