| Galium californicum | |
|---|---|
| ssp. sierrae | |
| Conservation status | |
|
Secure (NatureServe) |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Galium |
| Species: | G. californicum |
| Binomial name | |
| Galium californicum Hook. & Arn. |
|
Galium californicum is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name California bedstraw.
Contents |
Galium californicum is endemic to California, where it grows mainly in moist, shady habitat in mountainous areas.
This is a variable plant in the form of a small perennial herb to a sprawling woody-based shrub approaching a meter in height. Its stems and small oval-shaped leaves are hairy. The plant is dioecious with male plants producing small clusters of staminate flowers and female plants producing solitary flowers. Both types of flower are generally dull yellow. The fruit is a berry covered in soft hairs.
There are two subspecies of the plant, one of which is rare and federally listed as an endangered species of the United States. The El Dorado bedstraw (ssp. sierrae) occurs in the Sierra Nevada foothills in the gabbro soils of the Pine Hill Ecological Reserve and surrounding area. It differs from ssp. californicum by its narrower leaves.[1]