130 STELLATE. [Galium. 



by the calyx. — Name from ^aka, milk : the plant having been 

 formerly employed to curdle milk. 



Pentandria. Monogynia. 



sjs Fruit smooth. Flowers yellow. 



1. G. verum, Linn. Yellow Bed-straw. Leaves eight in a 

 whorl, linear, channelled, entire, rough ; flowers in dense pani- 

 cles. Br. Fl. 1. p. 61. E. Fl. v. i. p. 208. E. Bot. t. 660. 



Dry banks, sandy places, and sea-shores, common. Fl. July, Aug. 

 7£.— Readily distinguished by its yellow floivers, and linear deflexed 

 leaves. The Highlanders are said to employ this plant as a Rennet 

 for curdling milk, combined with the leaves of the common Nettle and 

 a little salt. 



5{c * Fruit glabrous. Flowers white. 



2. G. palustre, Linn. White Water Bed-straw. Leaves 4 — 6 

 in a whorl, oblongo-lanceolate, obtuse, tapering at the base, and 

 as well as the lax, spreading, branched stem more or less rough. 



a. stem and leaves smoothish. Br. Fl. I. p. 62. — G. palustre, 

 E. Fl. v. i. p. 198. E. Bot. t. 1857. 



/3. nerves at the back and margins of the leaves, and angles 

 of the stem, distinctly rousjh with mostly reflexed prickles. Br. 

 FL \.p. 62.— G. Witheringii, E. Fl. v. i. p. 200. E. Bot. t. 

 2206. 



Sides of ditches, lakes and rivulets. Fl. July. %. — " The transition 

 from the smooth to the rough state of this plant, may be observed on 

 the borders of pools, and it is only in wet situations that it corresponds 

 with the description in E. Fl. of G. palustre. In dry situations, espe- 

 cially by road-sides where the earth has been recently disturbed (in 

 the neighbourhood of marshes) it assumes the state of G. Witheringii, 

 but is very luxuriant and branched. In marshes, not liable to be over- 

 flowed, and in boggy ground, it is in every respect like that described 

 in E. Fl. under G. Witheringii." Wilson MSS. quoted by Hooker. 

 The plant turns blackish in drying, and the upper leaves are generally 

 unequal in size. The variations of this plant, as stated above, may be 

 seen in the common beyond Kingstown, where it is abundant in the 

 summer months. 



3. G. uliginosum, Linn. Rough Marsh Bed-straw. Leaves 

 six in a whorl, lanceolate, mucronate, their margins and the 

 stem rough with reflexed prickles. Br. Fl. 1 . p. 62. E. Fl. v. 

 i.p.'20l. E. Bot.t. 1972. 



Wet meadows and sides of ditches, frequent. Fl. Aug. ^.—Dis- 

 tinguished by the lanceolate leaves, tapering at the base and shortly 

 acuminated at the points into a mucro. Bristles on the plant all re- 

 flexed. 



4. G. saxatile, Linn. Smooth Heath Bed-straw. Leaves six 

 in a whorl, obovate, mucronate; stem very much branched, 

 prostrate, smooth. Br. Fl. 1. p. 62. E. Fl. v. i. p. 201. E. 

 Bot. t.8\5. 



