| Bluntleaf bedstraw | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Galium |
| Species: | G. obtusum |
| Binomial name | |
| Galium obtusum Bigelow | |
Galium obtusum, the bluntleaf bedstraw, is a herbaceous plant species in the family Rubiaceae. Bluntleaf bedstraw is a wildflower native to eastern North America.
The bluntleaf bedstraw (Galium obtusum) is a wildflower that starts growth in spring and blooms in the summer, this plant is relatively small only growing between 8 and 30 inches in height and spreads roughly around a foot in area. [2] One notable characteristic of Galium obtusum is its blunt leaf tips hence the common name Bluntleaf Bedstraw. Additionally, Galium obtusum may also be referred to as wild madder indicating it is in the family Rubiaceae. [2] Another less commonly applied name is obtuse bedstraw. [3]
Galium obtusum has white colored petals with green sepals, in total the flower has four petals that fuse with sepals that collectively look cup shaped. [4] This flower also has four black tipped stamens, two styles and is considered to have radial symmetry. The ovary position of this flower is epigenous and its flower inflorescence is a dichasium. [5] The root structure is adventitious. The fruit of this flower is indehiscent meaning that it does not open up at maturity, the fruit of Galium obtusum has a smooth outside and is very small only averaging around 0.4-0.5mm in length, most commonly only one seed is found per fruit but in rare instances two seeds have been found in one fruit. The leaves of Galium obtusum are simple with entire edges and tend to be mostly glabrous with very few hairs, the leaf arrangement is whorled and averages around four to five leaves around each whorled section. [4] Leaves that whorl tend to be the same size or very close in size. [6]
As of 2013 there are around 630 species of Galium. [7] Rubiaceae is the family that Galium obtusum is placed. [8] The order of this species falls in Rubiales and there are two subspecies Galium obtusum Bigelow subsp. filifolium (Wiegand) Puff and Galium obtusum Bigelow subsp. obtusum. [9] Galium obtusum is the first species to diverge in lineage. [10] This plant has very different leaves when compared to other bedstraws as its leaves are rounded at the ends, most other bedstraws have leaf tips forming sharp apices meaning that they form a point at the leaf's end. [4]
Galium obtusum can be found in most of the eastern states in North America except Maine where it has been eradicated. [2] In Vermont, New Hampshire, and Florida it is considered to be a very rare plant, while in other states (New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) it is considered to be a noxious weed as it competes with agricultural crops. [2] Western North America is completely absent of the plant. Habitats for Galium obtusum can vary, it is found at either full sun or partial sun environments and it can be found in areas such as deciduous forest and wetlands and is typically found growing among trees, bushes, in meadows, beside rivers, and can even be found along shorelines. [2]
A study conducted in Kalsow Prairie, Iowa showed that Galium obtusum showed positive intraspecific association with a large variety of species suggesting that Galium obtusum plays a role in ecology with other plants in its environment. [11] This study also tracked Galium obtusum over 16 years and found a 5% increase in frequency. [11] In other parts of North America Galium obtusum can have negative impacts on the yield of agricultural crops. [2]
The Greek word Galium means "milk" this meaning suggest that Galium obtusum may have been a plant that was used in the process of curdling milk. [3] Some people even use this flower as decoration, but its popularity as an ornamental is low. [5]
This herbaceous perennial can live around three to five years, its optimal growth is in full sun, which means direct sunlight for approximately eight or more hours a day, however it can live in partial sun, approximately four to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. [12] This wildflower also requires a fair amount of moisture, indicated by the fact one of its main habitats is the wetlands. It can also live in moist soils which are soils that retain water and rarely become dry, this plant does not grow in rocky dry soils and does not grow on heavily sloped lands. [12] It is expected for Galium obtusum to bloom between April and May in North America. [12]
For a large portion of the eastern North American states conservation of Galium obtusum is of least concern, but for some states such as Maine is it classified as potentially extirpated (PE) as it has not been found in the wild for many years and has a low probability of rediscovery in the wild there. [4] In Vermont this wildflower is very rare and is close to being threatened and is at a state level of concern (S2). In New Hampshire this plant is ranked as historical (SH) which means it has not been seen in years in some parts of the state and in other parts of the state the plant is ranked at endangered (E), which indicates it is at a risk of being extinct throughout a significant area it grows in. [4] The subspecies Galium obtusum ssp. filifolium is much less widespread and only occurs in eight states in eastern Northern America, only the New Jersey population is considered to be vulnerable at a state level designation 3. [13]
The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules and sympetalous actinomorphic flowers. The family contains about 13,500 species in about 620 genera, which makes it the fourth-largest angiosperm family. Rubiaceae has a cosmopolitan distribution; however, the largest species diversity is concentrated in the tropics and subtropics. Economically important genera include Coffea, the source of coffee, Cinchona, the source of the antimalarial alkaloid quinine, ornamental cultivars, and historically some dye plants.
Sherardia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, Sherardia arvensis, the (blue) field madder, which is widespread across most of Europe and northern Africa as well as southwest and central Asia and Macaronesia. It is also reportedly naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Kerguelen, Ethiopia, Sudan, southern Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, Bermuda, Cuba, Haiti and much of Canada and the United States.
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.
Galium triflorum is a herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread in northern Europe, eastern Asia and North America. The plant is considered a noxious weed in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Galium album, the white bedstraw or hedge bedstraw, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Rubiaceae.
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.
Galium saxatile or heath bedstraw is a plant species of the genus Galium. It is related to cleavers.
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.
Galium porrigens is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common names graceful bedstraw and climbing bedstraw. It is native to the west coast of North America from Oregon to Baja California.
Galium nuttallii is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common names San Diego bedstraw and climbing bedstraw. It is native to the coast and coastal Peninsular and western Transverse Ranges of southern California and Baja California, where it is a member of chaparral and pine woodland plant communities. It is also found on the Channel Islands and on the mainland as far north as Santa Barbara County
Galium aparine, with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed "robin-run-the-hedge", and sticky willy among others, is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae.
Cruciata laevipes is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is commonly known as crosswort, smooth bedstraw or Luc na croise in Gaelic. The Latin epithet laevipes refers to the smooth stalk.
Yolla Bolly bedstraw is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to British Columbia, northern California and southeastern Oregon, where it often grows on serpentine soils.
Galium murale is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common names small goosegrass, yellow wall bedstraw and tiny bedstraw. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin of southern Europe and northern Africa, and the Middle East from Turkey and the Caucasus east to Iran and south to Saudi Arabia and Somalia. It is also considered native to the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores. It is naturalised in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and California.
Galium parisiense is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae known by the common name wall bedstraw. A native of the Mediterranean area and Western Europe, it has become naturalised in North America and other parts of Europe.
Galium asprellum, the rough bedstraw, is a plant species in the family Rubiaceae. It native to eastern Canada and northeastern United States, from North Carolina and Tennessee north to Minnesota, Ontario and Newfoundland. It is considered a noxious weed in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, and is abundantly common in the other New England states and in sections of the Great Lakes region. It is a perennial herb. Leaves are simple with three or more leaves per node. Flowers have four petals and are white in color.
Galium concinnum, 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 jepsonii, with the common name Jepson's bedstraw, is a rare flowering plant species in the Rubiaceae — Madder family.
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.
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.
