177 
RUBIACE.E. (MADDER FAMILY.) 
lanceolate, tapering to the base, short-pointed; peduncles axillary, 
1 - 2 -flowered ; flowers white ; fruit (large) bristly with hooked pric¬ 
kles. — Moist thickets. June. — Stems 2°- 6 ° long: leaves T-2' 
long, rough on the margins and midrib. 
* * Perennial: leaves 4—6 (in the last species 8 ) in a whorl. 
Peduncles axillary and terminal , few-flowered: flowers white or 
sometimes greenish. 
2. G. asprellum, Michx. (Rough Bedstraw.) Stem weak, 
much branched, rough backwards, with hooked prickles, leaning on 
bushes; leaves in whorls of 6 , or 4-5 on the branchlets , oval-lanceolate , 
pointed, with almost prickly margins and midrib ; peduncles many, 
short, 2-3 times forked; fruit usually smooth. —- Low thickets. July. 
— Stems reaching the height of 4° - 5°; the branchlets covered with 
numerous but very small white flowers. 
3. G. conclnnum, Torr. & Gr. (Comely Bedstraw.) 
Stems low, diffuse, with minutely roughened angles; leaves all m 
whorls of 6 , linear , slightly pointed , veinless, the margins upwardly 
roughened ; peduncles slender , 2 — 3 times forked , somewhat panicle 
at the summit; pedicels short; fruit smooth. —Dry soil, Ann Arbor, 
Michigan. June. — Plant 6 ' -12' high, slender, but rather rigid, not 
turning blackish in drying, like the rest of these species. 
4. G* trifidum 9 L. (Small Bedstraw.) Stems weak, as¬ 
cending, branching, roughened backwards on the angles; leaves in 
whorls of A to 6 , linear or oblanceolate , obtuse, the margins and midrib 
rough; peduncles 1 - 3-flower ed; pedicels slender; corolla-lobes and 
stamens often 3; fruit smooth. — Var. 1. tinct6rium : stem stouter 
with nearly smooth angles, and the parts of the flower usually in 
fours. Var. 2. latif6lium (G. obtusum, Bigel.) : stem smooth, wide¬ 
ly branched; leaves elliptical or oblong, quite rough on the midrib 
and margins.— Swamps and low grounds; common, and very varia¬ 
ble, 5'-20' high. June- Aug. 
5. G. trifldnim, Michx. (Sweet-scented Bedstraw.) Stem 
weak, reclining or prostrate, bristly-roughened backwards on the an¬ 
gles, shining ; leaves 6 in a whorl , elliptical-lanceolate, bristle-pointed , 
with slightly roughened margins ; peduncles 3 -flowered, the flowers all 
pedicelled ; fruit bristly with hooked hairs. — Rich woodlands, com- 
mon. July. - Stem l°-4° long; leaves 1 '-2'long. Lobes of the 
greenish corolla pointed. 
-- Peduncles several-flowered : flowers dull purple or brownish (rare¬ 
ly cream-color) : petals pointed: fruit densely hooked-bristly. 
6 . G. pildsum, Ait. (Hairy Bedstraw.) Stem ascending, 
somewhat simple, hairy ; leaves in fours , oval, dotted, hairy, scarcely 
3-nerved; peduncles twice or thrice 2 - 3-forked , the flotcers a p e 
icelled. — Dry copses, Vermont and Rhode Island to Pennsy vania. 
June - August. 
