STELLATE. 



391 



5. Heath Galium. Galium saxatile, Linn. (Fig. 468.) 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 815, and G. jpusillum, Eng. Bot. t. 74.) 



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. Leases usually 6 in a whorl, 

 sometimes 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 edges are 

 smooth or rough, the length seldom ex- 

 ceeds 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. Fl. summer. Varieties with narrower leaves, more often 8 in 

 a whorl, have been distinguished under the names of G. pusillum, 

 sylvestre, montanum, commutatum, etc. 



Fig. 468. 



6. Hedge Galium. Galium Mollugo, Linn. (Fig. 469.) 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 1673.) 



Very near the heath G., 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 termi- 

 nated by a little point. Flowers white and numerous, in large terminal 

 panicles. Corolla varying from 1 to 2 lines in diameter, each lobe 

 bearing a little point, sometimes rather long, sometimes scarcely pro- 

 minent. Fruit small and smooth, or slightly granulated. 



In hedges, thickets, and rich pastures, widely spread over Europe 

 and western Asia, but neither an Arctic nor perhaps a Siberian species. 

 Very common in England, and in some parts of Ireland, but extends 

 only into the south-eastern counties of Scotland. Fl. summer. In 

 shady situations and rich soils the stems are very straggling, swollen 

 above each node, with broader leaves, and spreading panicles. This is 



