European Bedstraw

Description

Galium rubioides (European bedstraw) is a species of plants in the Rubiaceae, native to Europe and Asia. Natural distribution is from Austria and Croatia east to Russia and Turkey, plus the Caucasus, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan, northern China (Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Xinjiang) and the Amur region of Russia. The species is also reportedly naturalized in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Galium rubioides is an erect herb up to 100 cm tall, with broad leaves up to 20 cm long and 15 cm wide, generally in whorls of 4. Fruits and roots have a reddish tinge.