Bluntleaf Bedstraw
Galium obtusum
Summary 3
Galium obtusum, the bluntleaf bedstraw, is an herbaceous plant species in the Rubiaceae family. Bluntleaf bedstraw is a wildflower native to eastern Northern America.
Description 4
This herbaceous perennial plant is about ½–1½' tall, often branching abundantly and presenting a bushy appearance. The weak stems are ascending to sprawling; they are light green, sharply 4-angled, shallowly furrowed along their sides, and mostly glabrous, except where the whorled leaves occur. Near the bases of these leaves, there are narrow rings of dense short hairs on the stems. At intervals along these stems, there are whorls of 4-6 sessile leaves. Where the lower stems branch dichotomously, there are usually whorls of 5-6 leaves, otherwise there are whorls of 4 leaves. Relative to their stems, these leaves are ascending to widely spreading. Individual leaves are ½–1¼" long and about one-fourth as much across; they are elliptic-oblong to oblong in shape, while their margins are entire (toothless) and stiffly ciliate. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are medium green and mostly glabrous. However, the lower leaf surfaces are stiffly short-hairy along their central veins. These hairs can cling for support on adjacent plants. The upper and outer stems terminate in dichotomously branched clusters of 2-4 flowers; there are 1-2 small clusters of 2-4 flowers per stem. The glabrous peduncles of these floral clusters are up to 1" long and the glabrous pedicels of the flowers are up to ½" long. Each flower is a little less than ¼" across, consisting of a white corolla with 4 lanceolate lobes, a pair of pistils, and 4 stamens; the calyx is minute and insignificant. The inferior ovaries of the pistils are light green, and glabrous; together they are biglobular in shape. The blooming period occurs from late spring to mid-summer, lasting about 1 month. Usually only a few flowers are in bloom at the same time. After the blooming period, the ovaries mature into a pair of joined dry fruits; each fruit contains a single seed. The seeds are about 0.5 mm. long, somewhat flattened, and globoid. The root system is fibrous.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Erik Danielsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Erik Danielsen
- (c) Andy Newman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Andy Newman
- Adapted by Amber Leung from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galium_obtusum
- (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29441952
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- Go Botany
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- Maryland Biodiversity Project
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- VASCAN by Canadensys
- World Flora Online
iNat Map
| Family | Rubiaceae |
|---|---|
| Area observations | few |
