White Bedstraw or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo)White Bedstraw or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo)
Wild Flowers of Sleepy Hollow Lake From All-Creatures.org Art and Photo Journals and Galleries Directory

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White Bedstraw or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo)
Table of Contents

Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 01
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 01)  There are about 60 species of bedstraw in North America.  One of the most common species in our area of the country is called wild madder or white bedstraw.  The white bedstraw is a member of the Madder family, Rubiaceae.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 01a
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 01a)  To the casual passer-by, the myriad of tiny (1/8 inch) flowers of the white bedstraw tend to blur the details of this wild flower.  This fluffy characteristic of white bedstraw encouraged colonists to import it from Europe as a bedding material for themselves and cattle.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 02
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 02)  Each tiny 1/8 inch white bedstraw flower has 4 petals, 4 stamens, and 2 pistils.  The white bedstraw bloom from May to September.  Other species of bedstraw may have yellow or purple flowers, but their other characteristics are similar.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 03
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 03)  This is one of the many flower clusters on the white bedstraw.  White bedstraw have vine-like stems that are one to three feet long.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 03a
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 03a)  This photo gives us a closer look at some of the white bedstraw flowers and buds in a cluster.  The more mature flowers have dark colored anthers on the top of their stamens.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 04
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 04)  This is another look at a portion of a white bedstraw stem with its many flower clusters, most of which are still in their bud stage of development.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 04a
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 04a)  This photo shows more clearly how the white bedstraw flower clusters grow from the leaf axils.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 05
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 05)  The small, narrow leaves of the white bedstraw grow in whorls along the entire length of the stem.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 06
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 06)  This is another look at the whorled leaf structure of the white bedstraw.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 06a
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 06a)  This is a close-up of the new-growth leaves of the white bedstraw damp with the morning dew.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 07
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 07)  This is another look at the young growth of white bedstraw stems and leaves as they begin to branch from the leaf axils.
Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 07a
(Bedstraw, White or Wild Madder (Galium mollugo) - 07a)  This is a closer look at the way the white bedstraw's new branching stems grow from the leaf axil.

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