108 RUBIACE^ 



4. Least Mountain Bedstraw {G. pusillum). — Leaves about 8 in 

 a whorl, narrow, lanceolate, and hair-pointed, lower ones somewhat hairy ; 

 panicles terminal, few-flowered; fruit slightly granulated. This species is 

 very similar to the last, and chiefly distinguished from it by its more narrow, 

 stifl' pointed leaves and its more erect habit. It is, however, a rare plant, 

 occurring on dry soils in several of the more western parts of England, Scot- 

 land, and Ireland. It is not found in Wales, neither in the west of Scotland 

 nor in the east of England. It flowers in July and August. Also known 

 as G. sylvestre. 



5. Rough Marsh Bedstraw {G. uligimkum). — Leaves 6 — 8 in a whorl, 

 narrow, tapering at both ends, bristle-pointed, their edges as well as the 

 angles of the stem rough with prickles, which point backwards. This species 

 is very frequent by the sides of rivers and on wet meadows. It has much 

 similarity to the following kind, and both plants are often found growing 

 together. It is chiefly distinguished from it by its narrow, sharply-pointed 

 leaves. Its slender and brittle stem is rarely more than a foot high, and its 

 panicles of few flowers ajDpear in July and August. It does not turn l)lack 

 in drying. It is to this or a nearly allied species that Charlotte Smith refers, 

 when describing the course of some water nymph down the quiet river. 



"O'er her light skiff, of woven buhnish made, 

 The water-lily lends a polish'd shade ; 

 White Galium there, in pale and silver hue, 

 And epilobium on the bank that grew. 

 Form her soft couch ; and as the sylphs divide 

 With pliant arms the still increasing tide, 

 A thousand leaves along the stream unfold ; 

 Amidst its waving swords, in flaming gold. 

 The iris towers ; and liere the arrowhead. 

 And water-crowfoot, more profusely spread, 

 Spangle the quiet current ; higher there. 

 As conscious of her claims, in beauty rare, 

 Her rosy umbels rears the flow'ring rush ; 

 While with reflected charms the waters blush, " 



6. \A^hite Water Bedstraw {G. jyalustre). — Leaves from 4 to 6 

 in a whorl, oblong, blunt, tapeiing at the base ; stem weak, straggling, 

 branched, more or less rough. This common plant flowers in July and 

 August, bearing its blossoms in loose panicles. It is usually larger than the 

 foregoing species, with which alone it could be confounded, but it varies 

 greatly in diff"erent soils and circumstances. In one variety the stem and 

 leaves are almost smooth ; and in a second, the nerves at the back and 

 margins of the leaves, and the angles of the stem, are most distinctly beset 

 with prickles, which chiefly bend downwards. The latter form is the 

 G. witheringii of some botanists. 



7. Upright Bedstraw {G. erechim). — Leaves from 6 to 8 in a whorl, 

 lanceolate, and tipped with a spine, the margins having prickles which 

 point forwards ; stem weak, segments of the corolla somewhat pointed. This 

 is a rare species, flowering in June, and found in some hedges of England 

 and Scotland. It has in some cases narrower leaves, when it is described by 

 some botanists as G. diffusum. In other conditions it has been termed 

 G. aristatum, and G. elatum. It appears to be really a sub-species of 

 G. mollngo. 



