17. Galium Tinctdrium L. Stiff Marsh Bed-Straw. Wild Madder

Fig. 3944

Galium tinctorium L. Sp. Pl. 106. 1753.

Galium trifidum var. latifolium Torr. Fl. N. & Mid.

States, 78. 1826. Galium tinctorium filifolium Wiegand, Bull. Torr. Club 24: 397. 1897.

Perennial; stem erect, 6-15' high, rather stiff, branched almost to the base, the branches commonly solitary, strict (not irregularly diffuse), several times forked; stem 4-angled, nearly glabrous; leaves commonly in 4's, linear to lanceolate, 1/2'-1' long, mostly broadest below the middle, obtuse, cuneate at the base, dark green and dull, not papillose, 1-nerved, the margins and midrib roughish; flowers terminal in clusters of 2 or 3; pedicels slender, not much divaricate in fruit; corolla white, large, 1"-1 3/4" broad, 4-parted, its lobes oblong, acute; disk large; fruit smooth; seed spherical, hollow, annular in cross-section.

Damp shady places, wet meadows and swamps, Quebec to North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Michigan, Nebraska and Arizona. May-July.

18. Galium Labradoricum Wiegand. Labrador Marsh Bedstraw

Fig. 3945

Galium tinctorium labradoricum Wiegand, Bull. Torr. Club 24: 398. 1897.

Galium labradoricum Wiegand, Rhodora 6: 21. 1904.

Perennial, with very slender rootstocks; stems weak, smooth, slender, more or less branched, 2-12' high. Leaves1/4' -3/4' long, linear-oblanceolate, narrowed at the base, becoming reflexed, scabrous on the margins and midvein beneath; flowers solitary, about 1" broad, or in simple cymes; corolla white, mostly 4-parted; fruit smooth, seed annular in cross-section.

In mossy bogs, Newfoundland to Wisconsin, Connecticut, western Massachusetts and New York. June-Aug.

19. Galium Trifidum L. Small Bedstraw. Small Cleavers

Fig. 3946

Galium trifidum L. Sp. Pl. 105. 1753- G. trifidum var. pusillum A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 209. 1867.

Perennial by slender rootstocks, very slender and weak; stem ascending, 16' long or less, much branched and inter-tangled; stem sharply 4-angled, rough; branches commonly in 2's; leaves in 4's, linear-spatulate, 2V-7" long, obtuse, cuneate at the base, 1-nerved, dark green and dull on both surfaces, scarcely papillose, the margins and midrib retrorse-scabrous; flowers small, on lateral or terminal pedicels which are capillary and much longer than the leaves, commonly two at each node or three terminal; corolla very small, white, 1/4" long, trifid, its lobes broadly oval, very obtuse; fruit glabrous; seed spherical and hollow, annular in cross-section Sphagnous bogs and cold swamps, Newfoundland to New York, British Columbia, Ohio, Nebraska and Colorado. Europe and Asia. Summer.

20. Galium Claytoni Michx. Clayton's Bedstraw

Fig. 3947

Galium Claytoni Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 78. 1803.

Galium tinctorium Bigelow, Fl. Bost. Ed. 2, 54. 1824.

Perennial; stem erect or ascending, more diffuse when old, 6'-20 high; stem slender or sometimes quite stout, sharply 4-angled, more or less rough, the diffuse branches in 2's; leaves of medium size, 4"-8" long, commonly in 5's or 6's, linear-spatulate or spatulate-oblong, obtuse, cuneately narrowed into a short petiole, rather firm in texture, scabrous on the margin and midrib, dark green and dull above, not papillose, discolored in drying; flowers in clusters of 2's or 3's, terminal, provided with 1 or 2 minute bracts; pedicels straight, in fruit strongly divaricate, glabrous and rather stout; corolla minute, white, 3-parted, the lobes broadly oval, obtuse; fruit glabrous; seed spherical and hollow, annular in cross-section.

Swamps, Quebec to New York, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas. May-July.