1. Guides
  2. TVA, White's Creek Small Wild Area, Plants
  3. sweet-scented bedstraw

sweet-scented bedstraw

Galium triflorum

Summary 4

Galium triflorum (also known as cudweed, Sweet-scented Bedstraw, and Fragrant Bedstraw) is a herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae. It grows throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It exists in creeps along the forest floor, with whorled leaves and single fruiting peduncles rising above basal rosettes. There are six leaflets in a whorl below the peduncle. Each peduncle has three fruiting structures, each having a single fuzzy ball. Stems are square. The entire vine does not feel very...

Barcode data: galium triflorum 5

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


Broad scale impacts of fire 6

More info for the term: rhizome

Powell [206] indicates that northern bedstraw has better chances of surviving fire than sweetscented bedstraw. Sweetscented bedstraw has less than 35% chance of 50% population survival [137,206] while northern bedstraw's chances are 35% to 64% for 50% of the species population to survive fires with average flame lengths of 12 inches (30.5 cm) [206]. Stickney and Campbell [255] consider sweetscented bedstraw a nonsurvivor because of its delicate rhizome; this classification was tentative as the researchers observed few postfire responses. However, Edgerton [77] described sweetscented bedstraw as a "surviving forb" following clearcutting and broadcast burning of a mixed conifer forest in the Umatilla National Forest of Oregon.

Faunal associations 7

The flowers are occasionally visited by small bees or flies; these insects usually suck nectar. The caterpillars of several moths feed on Galium spp. (Bedstraws), including Lobocleta ossularia (Drab Brown Wave), Epirrhoe alternata (White-Banded Toothed Carpet), and Hyles gallii (Galium Sphinx). Other insect feeders include larvae of Dasineura americana (Bedstraw Midge), larvae of the sawfly Halidamia affinis, and the polyphagous aphid Abstrusomyzus phloxae. Deer usually leave the foliage alone. The bristly carpels of Sweet-Scented Bedstraw can cling to the fur of animals and the clothing of humans; by this means, the seeds are distributed to new locations. Photographic Location

Importance to livestock and wildlife 8

More info for the terms: cover, density, fire management, forbs, frequency, hardwood, presence, selection, shrubs

Bedstraw is not particularly palatable to livestock and native ungulates, but often makes up a small portion of their diets. Usage may increase with stocking rates or with length of grazing time. While not necessarily an important food source for herbivores, bedstraw is an early season food source for black bears. The presence of bedstraw indicates important elk, deer, and moose habitats.

Northern bedstraw -
Livestock: Studies report conflicting responses of northern bedstraw to grazing. Several studies indicate an increased presence of northern bedstraw on sites grazed by livestock. The biomass of northern bedstraw was greater on grazed than ungrazed fescue grasslands of central Alberta. A decrease in grass yields was thought to facilitate northern bedstraw increases [17]. In aspen stands of Colorado and Wyoming, northern bedstraw is constant on moderately grazed ranges, and its removal from grazed vegetation may indicate mismanagement [55]. In rough fescue grasslands of southwestern Alberta, researchers tracked changes in the percent composition of northern bedstraw under different stocking rates and over a 32-year period. Northern bedstraw increased with length of grazing time but was relatively unaffected by stocking rates. Complete study results are shown below [285]:

Sampling times 1st 6 years of grazing
(1949-1954) Last 6 years of grazing
(1976-1981) Stocking rates
(AUM/ha) 1.2 1.6 2.4 4.8 1.2 1.6 2.4 3.2 (mean) Percent composition 1.1 1.7 1.4 1.9 4.3 4.2 3.7 3.9

Others report decreases in northern bedstraw with livestock grazing, or increased utilization of northern bedstraw with increased lengths of grazing time. On Douglas-fir/ninebark habitat types near Moscow, Idaho, the production and frequency of northern bedstraw was greater on ungrazed than cattle grazed sites. Ungrazed sites were not closed to native ungulate grazing, and stocking rates in the area averaged 1 animal/13 ha for 20 years [293]. On aspen ranges within the Black Mesa Experimental Forest of western Colorado, the utilization of northern bedstraw after 21 cattle-grazing days was 1%, after 38 days was 2%, and after 57 days was 6%. No utilization occurred after 78 days of use, but this was because most forbs on the site had senesced [199].

Native ungulates: The amount of northern bedstraw in elk, deer, mountain goat, and bighorn sheep diets is typically low, but season and/or stocking levels can increase utilization rates. Northern bedstraw made up a trace of winter mule deer diets in the Snowy Mountains of central Montana. After monitoring 96 feeding sites and analyzing 21 rumen samples, Kamps [130] found northern bedstraw constituted less than 0.5% of January diets and 1% of February diets. In a review of Rocky Mountain elk forage habits, Kufeld [145] considers northern bedstraw a least valuable forage plant. Least valuable forage is eaten by elk, but either makes up a small portion of the diet or is consumed in a much smaller proportion than is available. In June-collected elk feces from the Mount Saint Helens blast zone in southwestern Washington, just 0.1% of the total density was northern bedstraw [182].

Bentz and Woodard [28] consider northern bedstraw a secondary forage species for bighorn sheep in subalpine forests of southwestern Alberta. In the Sun River area of west-central Montana, 3 of 803 observed plant feeding instances by bighorn sheep were on northern bedstraw [232]. The stomach contents of 27 mountain goats from the Crazy Mountains of Montana contained 0.9% northern bedstraw by volume (0.5% by weight) in the summer and just a trace of the volume (0.1% by weight) in the fall. These findings came from 5 stomachs collected in the summer and 18 collected in the fall [230].

In several Canadian National Parks, Stelfox [251] compared bighorn sheep diets on winter ranges from 1968 to 1970 where the frequency of northern bedstraw ranged from 80% to 100%. In Waterton Lakes National Park, northern bedstraw did not comprise any portion of sheep diets. Zero utilization was likely because ungulate stocking rates were low. In Banff, northern bedstraw made up 9.1% of bighorn sheep's diet composition and was utilized at 20% frequency. Ungulate stocking rates were moderate in Banff. In Jasper National Park, ungulate stocking rates were high, and northern bedstraw comprised 1.1% to 2.2% of sheep diets but was utilized at frequencies of 12% to 86%. Utilization was greatest in the spring in Jasper and in the summer in Banff, but some utilization occurred year round in both parks [251].

Omnivores: Researchers recorded high levels of northern bedstraw usage by black bears in interior Alaska. Young stems and leaves were present in the spring diet. From 23 stomach contents, northern bedstraw occurred at 17% frequency and constituted 10.2% mean volume. From 16 intestines, the frequency of northern bedstraw was 33% and mean volume was 15%. No scat samples contained northern bedstraw [109]. Usage of northern bedstraw was less by black bears in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Alberta, but research relied on scat samples alone. From scat collected in the summer of 1984 (n=22), northern bedstraw frequency of occurrence was 5%. Frequency was 8% in scat collected in the fall (n=13) of the same year [119].

Birds: Northern bedstraw may be important to breeding and ground foraging birds. Bird surveys in the Little Missouri National Grasslands of western North Dakota revealed heavy usage of ash woodlands where northern bedstraw is a prominent understory herb. Researchers conducted surveys from mid-May through mid-July in 1979, 1980, and 1981. The highest density of ground foragers and 531 nesting pairs/40 ha were in ash woodlands. Three bird species were exclusive to ash woodlands, and 6 species occurred with their highest densities in ash woodlands [123].

Insects: Findings from a single insect study indicate that northern bedstraw may be important to certain insect species. In a southeastern Minnesota pioneer cemetery site, a single collection of insects on northern bedstraw plants yielded 6 total insect species, 3 of which were unique to northern bedstraw. The insect species were not identified [215].

Sweetscented bedstraw -
Native ungulates: While sweetscented bedstraw has relatively low grazing value it is a valuable indicator of productive elk, deer, and moose habitat. On Vancouver Island, black-tailed deer ate the new growth of sweetscented bedstraw in the spring and summer. Utilization was low given the abundance of the plant [56]. Throughout a 3-year-long study of habitat selection by elk in western Montana, the subalpine/sweetscented bedstraw habitat type was "strongly selected for." Selection described the use of a vegetation type that exceeded the availability of the type. Elk used this habitat predominantly for feeding, although sweetscented bedstraw was not a utilized food source [170]. Lonner [163] highlights moist sites within the same subalpine/sweetscented bedstraw habitat type as very important elk summer range. In south-central Montana, the spruce/sweetscented bedstraw habitat characterizes good year-round moose habitat and elk and deer winter range. The subalpine fir/sweetscented bedstraw habitat in the same area receives moderate to heavy deer and elk use. Moose use valley bottom sites [204].

Other native mammals: Sweetscented bedstraw may be an important rodent food source. In the Cascade foothills near Blue River, Oregon, 125-year-old Douglas-fir forests were logged and logged and burned. Sweetscented bedstraw was an important herb in the 2nd postfire and postlogging years. The creeping vole increased in density on treated sites. The author considered increased vole densities and herbaceous understory vegetation to be related, as the vole feeds on the leaves and stems of shrubs and herbs [122].

Omnivores: Sweetscented bedstraw identifies important grizzly bear habitat and is an important black bear food source. In the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana, the spruce/sweetscented bedstraw habitat is ranked as the 2nd (out of 10) most important habitats for grizzly bears during the herbaceous foraging season (den emergence to July 31) and 3rd most important during the fruit foraging season (from August 1 to den entry). However, sweetscented bedstraw was not listed as important grizzly bear food [167]. In a review, Rogers and Allen [224] list sweetscented bedstraw as 1 of several herbaceous species commonly found in the early spring black bear diets in northeastern Minnesota and Massachusetts.

Palatability/nutritional value: Few studies address the palatability and nutritional content of bedstraw. The lack of sweetscented bedstraw's inclusion in nutritional studies may be due to its low palatability [137]. Some have even suggested that bedstraw may be poisonous [147]. Below are some specific findings regarding nutritional value of northern and sweetscented bedstraw in various environments.

Northern bedstraw: Paulsen [199] found northern bedstraw produces 17 pounds of forage/acre in aspen communities of western Colorado. Herbage production of northern bedstraw taken from western Montana's mountain grasslands ranged from 19 to 72 kg/ha (dried). Production was greater on southwest exposures than on northeast exposures [188]. Northern bedstraw on burned sites may have increased forage value. Following a spring fire in an eastern North Dakota tallgrass prairie, northern bedstraw herbage production was much greater on burned sites even though frequencies were the same on burned and unburned sites. The complete results of this study are summarized in the Fire Management Considerations section [99].

Sweetscented bedstraw: Sweetscented bedstraw collected in July from Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire's hardwood and boreal forests had the following nutritional composition [242]:

Element K N Mg Ca S P Mn Fe Zn Na Cu Content 2.1% 2.8% 0.2% 1.7% 0.3% 0.2% 318 ppm 109 ppm 294 ppm 20 ppm 12 ppm

Cover value: In south-central Montana, the subalpine fir/sweetscented bedstraw habitat provides important big game cover [204].

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Superior National Forest, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/53801642@N06/5097894744
  2. (c) Andrey Zharkikh, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/zharkikh/6430877437/
  3. (c) Brent Miller, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/foliosus/7556689328/
  4. Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galium_triflorum
  5. (c) Barcode of Life Data Systems, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/30703858
  6. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24628856
  7. (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29445282
  8. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24628860

More Info

iNat Map

Member of the iNaturalist Network   |   Powered by iNaturalist open source software |   Documentation for developers