''Galium boreale'' or northern bedstraw is a perennial plant species of the

Rubiaceae 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 ...

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.

Description

''G. boreale'' is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

that dies back to the ground every winter. Established plants spread by

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s, creating colonies of new plants around the original one. The squarish unbranched stems may grow between and tall. The leaves are attached directly to the stem in groups of four; spaced evenly like the spokes of a wheel. Leaves are longer than they are wide and have three prominent veins. The small white flowers grow in a fairly showy

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s from the top of the stem. Each individual flower has 4 pointed segments that fold back from a fused tube enclosing the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s and

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

. The lightly perfumed flowers have no calyx. Seeds are formed in pairs in dark fruits that may be covered in short hairs. The Latin specific epithet ''boreale'' means northern.

Habitat and distribution

''Galium boreale'' is found in sunny areas with dry to moist soil in forests, shrubs or grassland. It is native to the sub arctic and temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. It is listed as endangered in the states of Maryland and Massachusetts.

Ecology

''Galium boreale'' is confirmed as a food plant for the larvae of ''

Deilephila elpenor Deilephila elpenor, the elephant hawk moth or large elephant hawk moth, is a moth in the family Sphingidae. Its common name is derived from the caterpillar's resemblance to an elephant's trunk. It is most common in central Europe and is distribut ...

'', '' D. porcellus'', '' Epirrhoe galiata'', ''

Eupithecia subumbrata ''Eupithecia subumbrata'', the shaded pug, is a moth of the family Geometer moth, Geometridae. The species was Species description, first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found from Mongolia and the Altai Mount ...

'' and '' Gandaritis pyraliata''.

Taxonomy

The species ''Galium boreale'' was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1753 based on the European population. In 1818, ''Galium septentrionale'' Roem. & Schult. was described by

Johann Jacob Roemer Johann Jacob Roemer (8 January 1763, Zurich – 15 January 1819) was a physician and professor of botany in Zurich, Switzerland. He was also an entomologist. With Austrian botanist Joseph August Schultes, he published the 16th edition of Ca ...

and

Josef August Schultes Josef (Joseph) August Schultes (15 April 1773 in Vienna – 21 April 1831 in Landshut) was an Austrian botanist and professor from Vienna. Together with Johann Jacob Roemer (1763–1819), he published the 16th edition of Linnaeus' ''Systema V ...

based on the North American population. ''G. septentrionale'' was determined to be a synonym of ''G. boreale'' in 2003. The genus ''

Galium ''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. There are over 600 spe ...

'' is a member of the family

Uses

''Galium boreale'' is edible, with a sweet smell and taste, and can be eaten as a wild salad green. Varieties such as ''Galium boreale'' which do not contain the small hooks on the stem are not as palatable as the hooked varieties of ''Galium'', like ''

Galium aparine ''Galium aparine'', with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed and sticky willy among others, is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae. Names ''Galium aparine'' is known by a variety of common names in English. They ...

'', but are important plants to remember for survival purposes. ''Galium boreale'' is known as "bedstraw" because it is used as fragrant stuffing for mattresses. There is also chemical evidence for its use in red textile dyes during the "Viking age" (year 800 to 1066).

References

External links

*
USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q158947 boreale Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Flora of Canada Flora of Greenland Flora of Siberia Flora of the United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus