Galium tinctorium
(Stiff Marsh Bedstraw)

Other pictures of this plant:


               Seedpod                                           Leaf                                            Stem                                        Seed                                          Habit

Facts About this Plant:

    Common Names: Stiff Marsh Bedstraw, Southern Three-Lobed Bedstraw, Dye Bedstraw, Stiff Three-petaled Bedstraw
    Synonyms: Asperula tinctoria, Galium claytonii
    Lifespan: Perennial
    Zones: 3 - 10
    Type: Forb
    Bloom Time: June - September
    Status: Native
    Range:

Galium tinctorium, or Stiff Marsh Bedstraw, is native to the eastern United States. It grows in moist to wet areas, like swamp margins, wet woods, ditches and shorelines. It blooms in mid summer to fall, with small white flowers.

This species is one many Galium species, but all can be differentiated with some careful examination. This species looks most like two others: Galium aparine and Galium trifidum. Galium aparine looks similar in its flowers, but its whorls of leaves have 5 - 8 leaves, and are pointed; additionally, it blooms in early spring and it has four petals per flower, and it has a very sticky texture, whereas Galium tinctorium blooms in summer through fall, and usually has three-petaled flowers, and its leaves are rounded and in groups of 4 - 6, and they are not sticky. Galium trifidum is very similar to Galium tinctorium, in that it also has white flowers, typically with 3 petals, but its leaf whorls usually have four leaves, instead of five to six. A photo will be posted later.

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