''Galium californicum'' is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name California bedstraw. The plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It grows mainly in moist, shady habitats in hills and mountainous areas, often within the

California chaparral and woodlands The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...

ecoregion.

Description

''Galium californicum'' is a variable plant in the form of a small perennial herb to a sprawling woody-based shrub approaching in height. Its stems and small oval-shaped leaves are hairy. The plant is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

with male plants producing small clusters of

staminate 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 filam ...

flowers and female plants producing solitary flowers. Both types of flower are generally dull yellow. The fruit is a berry covered in soft hairs.

Subspecies

Seven

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''Galium californicum'', all

, are currently recognized: *''Galium californicum'' subsp. ''californicum'' — California bedstraw — endemic to the

Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from t ...

of the Outer South

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...

. *''Galium californicum'' subsp. ''flaccidum'' — endemic to the

of the Outer South

, Outer and Inner North California Coast Ranges, and

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. *''Galium californicum'' subsp. ''luciense'' — Cone Peak bedstraw — endemic to the

, on the

Central Coast of California The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undevelope ...

; CNPS rare species. *''Galium californicum'' subsp. ''maritimum'' — Coastal California bedstraw — endemic to Outer South

, San Francisco Peninsula to Southern California. *''Galium californicum'' subsp. ''miguelense'' — San Miguel Island bedstraw — endemic to

San Miguel Island San Miguel Island (Chumash: ''Tuqan'') is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands, located across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean, within Santa Barbara County, California. San Miguel is the sixth-largest of the eight Ch ...

of the northern

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, Southern California; CNPS rare species. *''Galium californicum'' subsp. ''primum'' — endemic to the

San Jacinto Mountains The San Jacinto Mountains (''Avii Hanupach''Munro, P., et al. ''A Mojave Dictionary''. Los Angeles: UCLA. 1992. in Mojave) are a mountain range in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mou ...

and Chino Hills,

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

; State

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

. *''Galium californicum'' subsp. ''sierrae'' — El Dorado bedstraw — endemic to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

foothills in

El Dorado County El Dorado County (), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The County is part of the Sacramento- Roseville-A ...

; State rare species, federal

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. Calflora: ''Galium californicum'' ssp. ''sierrae''
/ref>

Conservation

One of the subspecies of the plant, the El Dorado bedstraw (''Galium californicum'' subsp. ''sierrae'') is CNPS−California Native Plant Society and State of California listed Rare plant species, and a federally listed

Endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of the United States. It grows in the

gabbro Gabbro () is a phaneritic (coarse-grained), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is che ...

soils of the

Pine Hill Ecological Reserve Pine Hill Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve of located due east of Folsom Lake in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in El Dorado County, California. The reserve was established in 1979, and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Pi ...

and surrounding area in the interior chaparral and woodlands of the Sierra Nevada foothills in

, eastern

. It differs from ''Galium californicum'' ssp. ''californicum'' by its narrower leaves.USFWS
Determination of Endangered Status for Four Plants and Threatened Status for One Plant From the Central Sierran Foothills of California.
''Federal Register'' October 18, 1996.

References

External links

CalFlora Database: ''Galium californicum'' (California bedstraw)Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Galium californicum''USDA Plants Profile for ''Galium californicum'' (California bedstraw)The Nature Conservancy: ''Galium californicum'' conservation''Galium californicum'' — UC Photos gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5226151 californicum Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of El Dorado County, California Plants described in 1839 Dioecious plants

Description

Subspecies

Conservation

See also

References

External links