Galium asprellum (Rough bedstraw)

Rough bedstraw is native to eastern Canada and the northeaster United States. It is considered a noxious weed in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

Plants: Erect, up to 6½′ (2 m) tall; or usually creeping, spreading up to 7′ (2.1 m), clambering over other plants. Stems are 4-angled and rough to the touch, with downward-pointing hairs.

Leaves: The main stem contains regular whorls of six rough-textured leaves, while the whorls on branches may have 4 or 5. Leaves are elliptic to lanceolate, ¾ ⨉ ⅛″ (2 cm ⨉ 6 mm) in size, usually wider toward the tips.

Flowers: White, ⅛″ (3 mm) wide, in inflorescences branched up to three times, each up to ¾″ (1.9 cm) wide. Each flower resembles a tiny 4-pointed star, with four sharp-tipped petals, four stamens, and two short styles. Flowers appear from May to August or September.

Fruits: Dry fruits are 1/16″ (2 mm) wide, spherical in shape, and paired. Each fruit contains a seed.

Habitats: Moist grounds in meadows, thickets, wet disturbed areas and riparian edges. It prefers at least partial shade.

7/25/2025 · River Point Conservation Area, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 6 × 3½″ (14 × 9.6 cm)

7/25/2025 · River Point Conservation Area, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Gentianales	Gentians, coffee, gardenias, frangipani, many others
Family	Rubiaceae	Coffee, madder, and bedstraw family
Genus	Galium	From Greek gala, “milk,” because some Galium species were used to curdle milk
Species	asprellum	“Slightly rough,” referring to the roughness of the leaves and stem

About plant names...