Galium spurium
Species of plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Galium spurium, the stickwilly[1] or false cleavers, is a plant species of the Rubiaceae. It is widespread across Europe, Asia, Africa and Canada, and is naturalized in Australia.[2][3][4] It is considered a noxious weed in many places.[5]
| Galium spurium | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Galium |
| Species: | G. spurium |
| Binomial name | |
| Galium spurium | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Galium vaillantii DC. | |
Galium spurium is an erect or reclining herb up to 50 cm tall. Stems are square in cross-section. Leaves are in whorls of 6–8, narrowly lanceolate. Flowers are in multi-flowered cymes or panicles, white or yellow-green.[6]
Subspecies
Many varietal and subspecific names have been proposed, but at present (May 2014) only 3 are recognized:[2]
- Galium spurium subsp. africanum Verdc. - mountains of tropical and southern Africa; also Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Socotra
- Galium spurium subsp. ibicinum (Boiss. & Hausskn.) Ehrend. - Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan
- Galium spurium subsp. spurium - widespread
