Galium album

Galium album
Conservation status
Unranked (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Genus:	Galium
Species:	G. album
Binomial name
Galium album Mill.[2]
Subspecies
See text
Synonyms
Species[2] Galium mollugo subsp. album (Mill.) Tzvelev Subspecies G. album subsp. album[3] Galium album var. praticola (Heinr.Braun) Michalk. Galium dumetorum Jord. Galium elatum var. dumetorum (Jord.) Rouy Galium elatum subsp. erectum Berher Galium erectum Huds., nom. illeg. Galium erectum var. alpinum Timb.-Lagr. Galium gerardi var. hosmariense Pau, nom. nud. Galium gerardi var. parviflorum Pau Galium lucidum var. guilhelmi Pau & Sennen Galium mixtum Stranski Galium mollugo var. alpinum (Timb.-Lagr.) Lange Galium mollugo var. dumetorum (Jord.) Corb. Galium mollugo subsp. dumetorum (Jord.) Briq. Galium mollugo subsp. erectum Syme, nom. illeg. Galium mollugo var. erectum Asch. Galium mollugo var. guilhelmii (Pau & Sennen) Maire Galium mollugo var. hosmariense Pau ex Maire Galium mollugo var. mixtum (Stranski) Stoj. & Stef. Galium mollugo var. nevadense Lange in M.Willkomm & J.M.C.Lange Galium mollugo var. parviflorum (Pau) Maire Galium mollugo var. praticola Heinr.Braun Galium sphenophyllum Klokov Galium sylvestre Scop. Galium sylvestre subsp. mollugo Gaudin G. album subsp. prusense[4] Galium prusense K.Koch Galium fagetorum Klokov Galium fasciculatum Klokov Galium juzepczukii Pobed. Galium mollugo var. anatolicum K.Koch Galium zelenetzkii Klokov G. album subsp. pycnotrichum[5] Galium mollugo f. pycnotrichum Heinr.Braun Galium mollugo subsp. pycnotrichum (Heinr.Braun) O.Schwarz Galium pycnotrichum (Heinr.Braun) Borbás Galium album var. petraeum (Schur) Soó, nom. illeg. Galium album f. pubescens (Schrad.) Ancev Galium firmum var. euboeum Halácsy Galium mollugo var. petraeum Schur Galium mollugo var. pubescens Schrad. G. album subsp. suberectum[6] Galium suberectum Klokov

Galium album, common names white bedstraw[7] and upright hedge bedstraw,[8] is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae and is native to much of Europe.

Description

The stems can grow to at least 150 centimetres (5 feet) and are more or less erect with ascending branches. The stem is square in sections with slight flanges. The plant is relatively hairless with shiny leaves and stem. Flowers are white or yellowish.[9] The fruits are hairless.[10][11]

Distribution and habitat

Galium album is widespread over much of Europe, native to a large region from Britain to Morocco, east to Turkey and Western Siberia. It has been introduced and is naturalized in Ireland, Scandinavia, Greenland and South Australia.[2] It is found in pastures and grassy banks, especially on dry calcareous soils. In Britain, G. album is local in lowland England, rare in the north, and very rare in Scotland.[9]

Subspecies

Five subspecies were accepted by Plants of the World Online as of December 2024^[update], listed here with their native distributions:[2]

• Galium album subsp. album – most of the range of the species[3]
• Galium album subsp. amani Ehrend. & Schönb.-Tem. – parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey[12]
• Galium album subsp. prusense (K.Koch) Ehrend. & Krendl – Greece, Bulgaria, Crimea, Turkey, and Caucasus[4]
• Galium album subsp. pycnotrichum (Heinr.Braun) Krendl – from Poland south to Greece and Turkey[5]
• Galium album subsp. suberectum (Klokov) Michalk. – Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine[6]

References

1. NatureServe (6 December 2024). "Galium album White Bedstraw". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
2. "Galium album Mill". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
3. "Galium album subsp. album". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
4. "Galium album subsp. prusense (K.Koch) Ehrend. & Krendl". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
5. "Galium album subsp. pycnotrichum (Heinr.Braun) Krendl". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
6. "Galium album subsp. suberectum (Klokov) Michalk". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
7. NRCS. "Galium album". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 9 December 2024.
8. "Galium album". European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Retrieved 9 December 2024.
9. Clapham, A. R., Tutin, T. G. and Warburg, E. F. (1987). Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23290-2. p. 302.
10. Hennedy, Roger (1891). The Clydesdale Flora. Glasgow: Hugh Hopkins. p. 97.
11. Michalková, Eleonóra. 1993. Biología, Bot. (Bratislava) 48(1): 48
12. "Galium album subsp. amani Ehrend. & Schönb.-Tem". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 9 December 2024.

External links

• Index Synonymique de la Flore de France
• Altervista Flora Italiana