214 THE STELLATE TRIBE. [Galium. 
Stems much branched at the base, decumbent or ascending, 6 inches to 
above a foot long, ending in an oblong panicle of very numerous, small, 
yellow flowers. Leaves ‘small, linear, numerous, in whorls of 6 or 8. 
Fruits small, and smooth. 
On banks and pastures, throughout Europe and central and Russian Asia, 
except the extreme north. Abundant in Britain. Fl. the whole summer. 
3. G. palustre,-Linn. (fig. 471). Marsh Galium.—A weak and slender, © 
glabrous perennial, more generally blackening in drying than any of the 
following. Stems a foot or more long, with few spreading branches, 
almost always rough’on the angles.. Leaves mostly 4 in a whorl, occasion- 
_ ally 5, very rarely 6, linear or oblong, obtuse, without the small point of 
the three follow’ ing species; mostly, but not always, rough on the edges, 
Flowers small, and white, not very numerous, in spreading panicles; the 
lobes of the corolla without the fine point of G. Mollugo. Fruit rather 
small, slightly granulated. . 
In marshes and wet places, often quite in the water, but sometimes also 
in drier situations, and even hanging from the clefts of rocks, extending all 
over Europe and Russian Asia, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle. 
Common in Britain. Fl. summer. 
4, G. uliginosum, Linn. (fig. 472). Swamp Galium.—Differs from G. 
palustre in its leaves, either 6 or 8 in a whorl, usually narrower, terminated 
by a fine point, and less disposed to turn black in drying; from the slender 
varieties of G. saxatile, in its stem very rough on ane angles, and often 1 
to 2 feet long. 
Dispersed over Europe and Russian Asia, and occurs in various parts of 
Britain, but not a very common plant, and very rare in Ireland, for al- 
though indicated in almost all Floras within the geographical range of G.. 
palustre and G. saxatile, it is probable that varieties of the one or the ~ 
other are often mistaken for it. LU. summer. 
5. G. saxatile, Linn. (fig. 473). Heath Galiwm.—A small perennial, 
much branched, leafy, and often tufted at the base; the flowering stems 
numerous, weak, 5 or 6 inches high, rarely attaining nearly a foot, and 
smooth, or nearly so, on the angles. Leaves usually 6 in a whorl, some- 
times 7 or 8, and occasionally on the barren shoots only 4 or 5; the lower 
ones small and obovate, the upper narrow, and, when the stem lengthens 
much, mostly linear; all have a little point at the tip, the edgesare smooth 
and rough, the length seldom exceeds 3 lines. Flowers numerous and white, 
in short terminal panicles, the lobes of the corolla scarcely pointed. Fruits 
small, more or less granulated. 
In open heaths and pastures, very common in western and central Europe, 
but seldom mentioned in the more eastern Floras. In Britain, one of the 
most universally distributed species. 7. summer. Varieties with narrower 
leaves, more often 8 in a whorl, have been distinguished as species, under the 
Bae of G. pusillum, Sm., sylvestre, Poll., montanum, Vill., commutatum, 
ab., etc. 
6. G. Mollugo; Linn. (fig. 474). tae Galium.—Very near G. saxa- 
tele, but on a much larger scale. Stems, from a perennial stock, 1 to 2 or 
3 feet long, smooth and shining, and more or less branched. Leaves 
usually 8 in a whorl, varying from obovate to oblong or linear, more or less 
_ rough on the edges, and always terminated by a little point. Flowers white 
Bm ve 
