nvniACEM. J 75 



Suborder 1, STELLATiE. 



Calyx tcholhj adherent (superior) to the ovary which is tioo-cellcd, tico-seeded. 

 Leaves verticitlate. Herbs. 



1. GALIUM. 



Caljx 4- toothed, very small ; corolla rotate 4-cleft ; stamens 



4, short; styles 2; carpels 2, united, 1-seeded, indehiscei.t. 



Gr. yaXa., milk ; because the flowers of one species (G. verum) are used in 

 coagulating inilk. A very neutral genus of herbs with square stems. 



* Fruit smooth. 



1. G. VERUM. 



Erect ; leaves 8 in a whorl, grooved, entire, rouafh ; flowers in dense clusters. 

 Grows in dry, sunny soils, supposed to have been introduced from Europe. 

 Root long, fibrous. Stem slender, eiect, J — 2 feet high, with short, opposite, 

 leafy, unequal branches; leaves deflexed, linear, with rolled edges. Flowers 

 numerous, small, yellow, in small, dense, terminal panicles. The roots dye 

 red. The flowers are used in England to curdle milk. Jn. Per. 



Yellow Bedstraw. 



2. G. aspre'llum. 



Diffuse; stems rough backwards, very branching; leaves 6 in a whorl, lan- 

 ceolate, slender at the point; pedicels very short. Common in thickets and 

 low grounds. Stem weak, supported by other plants to which it closely ad- 

 heres by its sharp, minute, retrorse prickles. Flowers white, very small and 

 numerous, followed by a very minute, smooth fruit, which is often somewhat 

 hispid when young. July. Per. hough Cleavers or Clivers. 



3. G. tri'fidum. 



Stem decumbent, very branching, roughish with retrorse prickles; stem 

 leavcs'in 5s, branch leaves in 4s, all linear, obtuse, rough-edged ; corolla mostly 

 trifid. Found in low grounds. It is one of the smallest of the species, suffi- 

 ciently distinguished by the minute corolla being often but 3-cleft and with 

 but 3 stamens. Leaves broad linear. Hight 6 — 15 inches. Jl. Per. 



Dyers' Cleavers. 



/3. tinctorii/vi (G. tinctorium. L.); s^rai nearly smooth ; leaves of the stem 

 in 6s, of the branches in 4s; peduncles 2 — 3-flowered; lobes of the corolla, 

 and the stamens, 4. A somewhat stouter variety than the above. The root 

 is said to dye a permanent red. 



y. liitifolium (Torr. G. obtusum. B.); stem diff"use ; leaves in 4s, oblan- 

 ceolate, obtuse, rough on the edge and mid-rib. Leaves very obtuse, broadest 

 above the middle. Flowers in 3s. Corolla segments and stamens, 4. 



* * Fruit hispid. 



4. G. borea'le. 



Stem erect, square, smooth ; leaves in 4s, linear-lcinceolate, acute, rough on 

 the margin and mid-rib ; panicle terminal, pyramidal. Stems a foot high, with 

 numerous, branched panicles of white flowers at or near the top. Leaves 1 — 

 2 inches long, lanceolate, often broadly so. Grows in shady and rocky pla- 

 ces. July. Perennial. Kurthern Galium. 



5. G. Apari'ne. 



Stem weak; leaves 6 — S in a whorl, lanceolate, obovate, keeled rough. A 

 common plant, in wet thickets. The specific name is from c4.7rct\,(^(o, to lay hold 



