Photo © Alicia Lafever

NPS Photo by Lee Ferguson

Photo © Alicia Lafever

Photo © Alicia Lafever

NPS Photo by Lee Ferguson

Shrubby Bedstraw (Manyflower Bedstraw)

Galium multiflorum

Family: Rubiaceae – Madder Family

Perennial herbs or subshrubs; stems 4-angled; stems up to 1.3' (4 dm) tall; woody base

Leaves: whorled, usually 4 leaves per whorl, simple; 0.2” to 0.8” (5 to 20 mm) long, 0.04” to 0.32” (1 to 8 mm) wide; linear to egg-shaped

Flowers: small greenish-yellow petals, usually with 4 lobes (less often 3 lobes); lobes much longer than the short tube; petals 0.08” to 0.16” (2 to 4 mm) wide; male and female flowers on different plants; 3 to 4 stamens; 2 styles

Pollinators: other genera in this family are pollinated by flies and beetles

Fruits: 2 dry carpels - nutlets; mature fruits with dense white bristles

Blooms in Arches National Park: May

Habitat in Arches National Park: desert shrub and pinyon-juniper communities

Location seen: Fiery Furnace

Other: The genus name, “Galium”, is from the Greek word “gala” which means “milk”, because certain species were used to curdle milk. The species name, “multiflorum”, means “many-flowered”.