Galium

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

- n galium A plant of the genus Galium.
- n galium [capitalized] A large genus of rubiaceous herbs, with square slender stems, verticillate estipulate leaves, small tetramerous and usually white flowers, and a single seed in each of the two cells of the fruit, which is dry or sometimes berry-like. The stems are often retrorsely hispid, and the fruit is frequently armed with minute hooked prickles. The roots of many species yield a purple dye. There are about 200 species, found in all temperate regions, over 30 occurring in the United States. The goosegrass or cleavers, G. Aparine, is a common species very widely distributed around the globe. Various species are popularly known as bedstraw. The yellow or lady's bedstraw, G. verum, has yellow flowers, as has also the crosswort, G. cruciatum. The former is employed in some parts of Great Britain for coagulating milk.
- ***

Gnaphalium common, Pteris aquilina, Airoides, Artemisia on sunny spots, Gaultheria, Galium of Churra, Arundo.

"Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and TheNeighbouring Countries" by William Griffith

Lady's bedstraw seems to have been so called from the yellow colour of one or more kinds of Galium.

"Springtime and Other Essays" by Francis Darwin

With somewhat the habit of a Galium.

"The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States" by Asa Gray

***

The wildflower bedstraw (Galium tinctorium) we examine today is a bothersome species that grows everywhere you do not want it.

Definitions