266 RUBIACEAE. Vo. III. 
24. Galium bermudénse L. Ccast Bed- 
straw. Fig. 3951. 
Galium bermudense L. Sp. Pl. 105. 1753. 
Galium hispidulum Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 79. 
1803. 
Relbuntuni bermudense Britten, Journ. Bot. 47: 
42. 1909. 
Perennial, much branched, hirsute, hispid 
or nearly glabrous, 1°-2° high. Leaves in 4’s, 
I-nerved, oval, mucronate, rather thick, 3’’—10” 
long, 13”-4” wide, the margins more or less 
revolute in drying; flowers few, terminating 
the branchlets, white; pedicels 3’-4’ long, 
rather stout, becoming deflexed in fruit, some- 
times 1-bracteolate; fruit fleshy, purplish, mi- 
nutely pubescent, becoming glabrate, about 2” 
broad. 
In dry or sandy soil, southern New Jersey to 
ude and Georgia. Bermuda; Bahamas. May-— 
ug. 
8. SHERARDIA [Dill.] L. Sp. Pl. 102. 1753. 
Slender annual procumbent or diffuse herbs, with verticillate spiny-pointed leaves, and 
small nearly sessile pink or blue flowers, in terminal and axillary involucrate heads. Calyx- 
tube obovoid, its limb 4-6-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, persistent. Corolla funnelform, 4-5-lobed, 
the tube as long as the lobes or longer. Stamens 4 or 5, inserted on the tube of the corolla; 
filaments slender; anthers small, oblong, exserted. Ovary 2-celled; style 2-cleft at the sum- 
mit; ovules 1 in each cavity. Fruit didymous, the carpels indehiscent. Seed erect. [Named 
for Dr. William Sherard, 1659-1728, patron of Dillenius.] 
A monotypic genus of the Old World. 
1. Sherardia arvénsis L. Blue Field 
Madder. Herb Sherard. Spurwort. 
Fig. 3952. 
Sherardia arvensis L. Sp. Pl. 102. 1753. 
Tufted, roughish, stems numerous, prostrate, 
ascending, or decumbent, 3’-10’ long. Leaves in 
4’s, 5’s or 6’s, the upper linear or lanceolate, acute 
and sharp-pointed, rough-ciliate on the margins, 
3-8” long, 1-2” wide, the lower often obovate, 
mucronate; flowers in slender-peduncled involu- 
crate heads, the involucre deeply 6-8-lobed, the 
lobes lanceolate, sharp-pointed; corolla-lobes 
spreading; fruit crowned with the 4-6 lanceolate 
calyx-teeth. 
In waste places, Ontario to eastern Massachusetts 
and New Jersey. Also in Bermuda. Adventive from 
Europe. June-July. 
9. ASPERULA L. Sp. Pi. 103. 1753. 
Erect or ascending branching perennial herbs, with 4-angled stems, verticillate leaves, and 
small white pink or blue flowers in terminal or axillary, mostly cymose clusters. Calyx-tube 
somewhat didymous, the limb obsolete. Corolla funnelform, 4-lobed. Stamens 4, inserted 
on the tube or throat of the corolla; anthers linear or oblong. Ovary 2-celled; ovules 1 in 
each cavity; style 2-cleft. Fruit globose-didymous, the carpels indehiscent. Seed adherent 
to the pericarp; endosperm fleshy; embryo curved. [Latin diminutive of asper, rough, refer- 
ring to the leaves.] , 
About 80 species, natives of the Old World. Type species: Asperula odorata L. 
Leaves oblong-lanceolate to obovate; fruit hispid. 1. A. odorata, 
Leaves linear, 1” wide or less; fruit smooth. . 2. A. galioides. 
