Galium odoratum (L.) Scop.
Sweet woodruff, sweetscented bedstraw
Sweet woodruff is native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia.
Plants: This low-growing plant may reach 1½′ (50 cm) in length, but often forms flat mats on the ground, so it appears to be only a few inches high. Plants have a sweet scent.
Leaves: ¾–1¾″ (2–5 cm) long, arranged in whorls of 6-9. Several such whorls can occur at regular intervals along the stem.
Flowers: Groups of small white flowers, each ⅛–¼″ (4–7 mm) in diameter, are raised above the leaves on thin stalks.
Fruits: 1/16–⅛″ (2–4 mm) in diameter, surrounded by tiny hooks like burrs.
Habitats: Meadows and fields.
Edibility: Sweet woodruff has been used as a flavoring agent, and for various herbal cures. Coumarin, which gives it its pleasant aroma, is not toxic to people. The dried leaves’ odor is like nutty vanilla.
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Some Gallium species. |
Online References:
Asperula odorata L.
5/12/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
4/24/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
5/26/2024 · McLaughlin Garden and Homestead, South Paris, Maine 
5/7/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) 
5/8/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
5/2/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) 
5/8/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
| 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 | odoratum | Fragrant, sweet-smelling |
Galium odoratum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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