Galium mollugo
hedge bedstraw
Europe, North Africa, and western Asia
Overview
Galium mollugo is a sprawling, scrambling perennial growing 12-48 inches (30-120 cm) long, with slender, weak four-angled stems that lean on surrounding plants or trail across the ground. The narrow, lance-shaped leaves are 0.4-1 inch (10-25 mm) long, arranged in whorls of 6-8 around the stem, each with a small point at the tip. Loose, branching clusters of many tiny white four-petaled flowers about 0.1 inch (2-3 mm) across appear from June to August, forming an open, frothy mass at the stem tips. The fruit is a small smooth two-parted nutlet. Plants grow from creeping rhizomes and spread to form patches in grassland and along hedge banks. The stems are too weak to stand alone and flop without support. It self-seeds and spreads by rhizome, and can become weedy in meadows and borders. Foliage dies back to the ground over winter and regrows in spring. It grows on a wide range of soils, favoring lime-rich and well-drained ground.
Native Range
Native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. Naturalized in North America and other temperate regions. Grows in meadows, hedge banks, roadside verges, and grassy slopes, often on calcareous, well-drained soils.Suggested Uses
Used in wildflower meadows, naturalistic grassland, and informal borders, spaced 12-18 inches (30-45 cm) apart. Suits meadow seed mixes and pollinator plantings where its sprawl and self-seeding are acceptable. Its weak, scrambling stems make it unsuited to formal beds and tidy edges.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height1' - 4'
Width/Spread1'6" - 3'
Bloom Information
Flowers from June through August, with peak bloom in midsummer. The small flowers open together in branched clusters over about 4-6 weeks. Bloom may extend into September in cool, moist seasons.
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 4-8 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight