Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Galium aparine
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Cleavers at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Galium aparine
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-10-006:
Galium aparine FAMILY Rubiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Galium aparine
COMMON NAME:
Cleavers, Bedstraw
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_127
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_gaap2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_gaap2_009_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_353
)
Keith Bradley kab_galium_aparine_1271
March Lexington County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0304d_06
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm100427_032
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm100427_035b
April Greenville County SC
Dry hook-bristled fruit, paired on stalks, green turning black, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
COMPARE
fruit of Galium, Geum and Sanicula species
)
JK Marlow jkm100427_044
April Greenville County SC
Angled rough-textured stem with short recurved bristles, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmgaparine_wadakoe04
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
3-5 lobed white corolla, single or in terminal and axillary clusters, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow s030421_a
April Greenville County SC
)
Tim Spira tpsgaparine3
April
)
JK Marlow jkm150607_277
June McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves linear to narrowly oblanceolate, tips sharp-pointed, surface rough, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm150607_321
June McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm070702_064
July Pocahontas County WV
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
)
JK Marlow jkm131228_509
December Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Galium aparine
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Galium aparine
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-10-006:
Galium aparine
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Galium aparine
587
Forb
Winter annual
Habitat: Meadows, thickets, disturbed areas, forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native & non-native
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Whorls of 6-8
Margins entire
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
Sepals usually obsolete
4-lobed rotate corolla
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Brown/Black
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p084
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p016
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p152
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p107
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p100
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: Northeastern US (Clemants & Gracie, 2006) p352
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p237
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p317
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p261
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p304
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p376
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p163
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992) p176
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".