228 KEY AND FLORA 



1. G. Aparine L. Goose Grass. Annual; stem weak, decumbent, 

 sharply 4 -angled and with backward-pointing prickly hairs, widely 

 branched, 2-4 ft. long. Leaves 6-8 in a whorl, oblanceolate, i:)rickly- 

 hairy on the margins and midrib. Peduncles axillary, longer than 

 the leaves, 1-3-flowered ; flowers white. Fruiting pedicels erect; 

 fruit dry, covered with hooked bristles. In waste places.* 



2. G. circaezans Michx. Wild Licorice. Perennial; stems sev- 

 eral, erect, smooth or downy, 12-18 in. high. Leaves 4 in a whorl, 

 oval to ovate, obtuse at the apex, strongly 3-nerved, downy. Cymes 

 long-peduncled, repeatedly branched. Flowers nearly sessile, greenish- 

 purple ; pedicels at length recurved. Fruit with hooked bristles. In 

 dry, open woods S. Easily recognized by the sweet, licorice-like taste 

 of the leaves.* 



3. G. borealeL. Northern Bedstraw. Perennial; stem smooth, 

 erect, 1-2 ft. high. Leaves in fours, linear-lanceolate, 3-nerved. 

 Flowers bright white, in compact cymes, grouped in a dense panicle. 

 Fruit usually with minute bristles. In rocky soil along banks of 

 streams, especially N. 



4. G. concinnum T. & G. Shining Bedstraw. Stems slender, 

 smooth, shining, commonly much branched, 6-12 in. high, often 

 with the angles minutely roughened. Leaves usually in sixes, linear 

 or nearly so, often slightly cuspidate. Flowers small, white, in open 

 cymes. Fruit small, smooth. Dry hills and woodlands. 



5. G. asprellum Michx. Rough Bedstraw. Perennial; stem 

 branching, weak, 3-5 ft. long, often reclining on bushes, with many 

 hooked prickles directed backwards. Leaves usually in sixes, or on the 

 branches in fours or fives, narrowly oval to lanceolate or oblanceolate, 

 cuspidate, with midribs and margins almost prickly. Flowers white, 

 in several-many-flowered cymes. Fruit smooth. In rich, moist soil. 



6. G. triflorum Michx. Perennial ; stems reclining or prostrate, 

 angles rough-bristly. Leaves mostly in sixes, lance-oblong, mucro- 

 nate. Flowers usually in threes, on slender peduncles. Woodlands, 

 especially N. 



7. G. hispidulum Michx. Bedstraw. Perennial, from yellow 

 roots ; stems diffusely branched, smooth or slightly roughened, 

 downy at the joints, erect or decumbent, 1-2 ft. long. Leaves 4 in 

 a whorl, narrowly oval, acute, rough on the margins and mid-vein. 

 Peduncles 1-3-flowered; flowers white; pedicels becoming reflexed. 

 Fruit a bluish-black, roughened berry. On dry, sandy soil.* 



II. MITCHELLA L. 



A pretty, trailing, evergreen herb. Leaves roundish-ovate, 

 petioled. Flowers fragrant, white or pinkish, dimorphous, 



