Galium verum

Galium verum

Taxobox
name = "Galium verum"


image_caption = Lady's Bedstraw flowers
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Gentianales
familia = Rubiaceae
genus = "Galium"
species = "G. verum"
binomial = "Galium verum"
binomial_authority = L.

"Galium verum" (Lady's Bedstraw or Yellow Bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae, native to Europe and Asia. It is a low scrambling plant, with the stems growing to 60-120 cm long, frequently rooting where they touch the ground. The leaves are 1-3 cm long and 2 mm broad, shiny dark green, hairy underneath, borne in whorls of 8-12. The flowers are 2-3 mm in diameter, yellow, and produced in dense clusters.

It is related to the plant Cleavers, or Sticky Willy (Gallium Aparine).

Uses

In the past the dried plants were used to stuff mattresses, as the coumarin scent of the plants acts as a flea killer. The flowers were also used to coagulate milk in cheese manufacture and, in Gloucestershire, to colour the cheese Double Gloucester. [cite book| last=Howard | first=Michael A. | year=1987 | title=Traditional Folk Remedies: A Comprehensive Herbal | isbn=0712617310 | publisher=Random House of Canada | pages=163–] The plant is also used to make red madder-like and yellow dyes.In Denmark, the plant (known locally as "gul snerre") is traditionally used to infuse spirits, making the uniquely Danish drink "bjæsk".

Mythology

Frigg was very much the goddess of married women, in Norse mythology. She helped women give birth to children, and as Scandinavians used the plant Lady's Bedstraw ("Galium verum") as a sedative, they called it "Frigg's grass". [cite book| last=Schön | first=Ebbe | year=2004 | title=Asa-Tors Hammare: Gudar och Jättar i Tro och Tradition | publisher=Fält & Hässler | location=Värnamo | isbn=9189660412 | pages=228–]

ee also

* List of Lepidoptera that feed on Galium

Gallery

References and notes


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  • Galium verum — Echtes Labkraut Echtes Labkraut (Galium verum) Systematik Klasse: Dreifurchenpollen Zweikeimblättrige (Rosopsida) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Galium verum — tikrasis lipikas statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Raudinių šeimos dažinis, rauginis, vaistinis augalas (Galium verum), paplitęs Europoje, Azijoje ir šiaurės Afrikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Galium verum angl. yellow bedstraw; lady s bedstraw… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • Galium verum — Bedstraw Bed straw , n. 1. Straw put into a bed. Bacon. [1913 Webster] 2. (Bot.) A genus of slender herbs, usually with square stems, whorled leaves, and small white flowers. [1913 Webster] {Our Lady s bedstraw}, which has yellow flowers, is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Galium verum — Lady s bedstraw La dy s bed straw , (Bot.) The common bedstraw ({Galium verum}); also, a slender leaved East Indian shrub ({Pharnaceum Mollugo}), with white flowers in umbels. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Galium verum — Maid s hair Maid s hair (Bot.) The yellow bedstraw ({Galium verum}). [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Galium verum — ID 36531 Symbol Key GAVE Common Name Yellow Spring bedstraw Family Rubiaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity Introduced to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN,… …   USDA Plant Characteristics

  • Galium verum var. verum — ID 36532 Symbol Key GAVEV Common Name Yellow Spring bedstraw Family Rubiaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity Introduced to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN,… …   USDA Plant Characteristics

  • Galium verum var. wirtgenii — ID 36533 Symbol Key GAVEW2 Common Name Wirtgen s bedstraw Family Rubiaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity Introduced to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution CT, IN, MA, ME, MI, NJ, NY, PA, VT Growth Habit Forb/herb …   USDA Plant Characteristics

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