Suomi
Svenska
Common Marsh-Bedstraw
Galium palustre
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Common Marsh-Bedstraw is a slender wetland plant with small white, star‑shaped flowers. It grows in damp, open places such as shores and marshes. It is widespread across most of Europe and also found in northern parts of Asia and eastern North America.
Did you know?
- The plant turns black when dried.
- It has two subspecies: Galium palustre subsp. palustre and subsp. elongatum.
About the species
Identification
A slender perennial, 10–60 cm tall. Stems are thin, weak and angled, often sprawling or leaning on other plants. Leaves are narrow and simple, set in rings around the stem, usually four per ring (sometimes up to six); they are narrow oval, blunt-tipped and without teeth. The flower clusters are loose and airy. Each flower is a tiny white four-pointed star, 3–5 mm across, often with reddish tips in the centre. Later it forms a smooth little two-part seed. Similar to other bedstraws, but this one usually has four leaves per ring and smooth fruits. Flowers in Finland from June to August.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
shore
Flowering
Jun–Aug
About the habitat
Grows on wet ground: along lake and sea shores, in marshes and boggy meadows, in ditches and places that flood. Common throughout Finland except in northern Lapland, where it is rare.
Sources
Photo: Tommy Forrest, CC0 1.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6178361946
Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Sisävedet: rantaniityt, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39288
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rantamatara
