Galium sylvaticum

Description

Galium sylvaticum, commonly known as Scotch mist or wood bedstraw, is a plant species of the genus Rubiaceae. Its genus name, Galium, is derived from the Greek word for "milk," apparently because some species have been used to curdle milk. It is native to central Europe: France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the former Yugoslavia and smaller countries in between. It is also naturalized in scattered locations in North America (Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Ontario, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Washington and Oregon). It is often found in Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, meadows and fields. It is a perennial, highly branched herb with thin stems. Its leaves are in whorls of six, each narrowly linear. Flowers are in open terminal panicles, each white and four-petaled.