| Galium grayanum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Galium |
| Species: | G. grayanum |
| Binomial name | |
| Galium grayanum Ehrend. |
|
Galium grayanum is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name Gray's bedstraw. It is native to the high mountains of California, and its range just extends into Nevada in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This is a mat-forming perennial herb that grows in green carpetlike patches amongst the rock litter of mountain slopes. Its creeping stems may reach up to about 20 centimeters long. Leaves are arranged in whorls of four at intervals on the stem. They are oval-shaped, pointed, slightly fleshy, and velvety. The plant is dioecious, but male and female flowers are similar in appearance, with small yellowish to reddish corollas at the ends of the leafy stems. The fruit is a nutlet with a coat of very long hairs. When in fruit with a large number of nutlets the plant takes on a fuzzy appearance.