California bedstraw
ssp. sierrae

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Galium
Species:
G. californicum
Binomial name
Galium californicum

Galium californicum is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name California bedstraw.

The plant is endemic to California. It grows mainly in moist, shady habitats in hills and mountainous areas, often within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion.[1]

Description

Galium californicum is a variable plant in the form of a small perennial herb to a sprawling woody-based shrub approaching 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height. Its stems and small oval-shaped leaves are hairy.

The plant is dioecious with male plants producing small clusters of staminate flowers and female plants producing solitary flowers. Both types of flower are generally dull yellow. The fruit is a berry covered in soft hairs.

Subspecies

Seven subspecies of Galium californicum, all endemic to California, are currently recognized:[2][3][4]

Conservation

One of the subspecies of the plant, the El Dorado bedstraw (Galium californicum subsp. sierrae) is CNPS−California Native Plant Society and State of California listed Rare plant species, and a federally listed Endangered species of the United States. It grows in the gabbro soils of the Pine Hill Ecological Reserve and surrounding area in the interior chaparral and woodlands of the Sierra Nevada foothills in El Dorado County, eastern California. It differs from Galium californicum ssp. californicum by its narrower leaves.[13]

See also

References

  1. Biota of North America Program
  2. Calflora Database: Taxon report and varieties for Galium californicum . accessed 54.5.2015
  3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. Dempster, Lauramay Tinsley & Stebbins, George Ledyard. 1968. University of California Publications in Botany 46: 30–32 — accessed May 2014.
  5. Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. californicum
  6. Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. flaccidum
  7. Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. luciense
  8. Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. maritimum
  9. Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. miguelense
  10. Calflora: Galium californicum ssp. primum
  11. "Pine Hill Preserve.org: Galium californicum subsp. sierrae (El Dorado bedstraw)". Archived from the original on 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  12. Calflora: Galium californicum ssp. sierrae
  13. USFWS. Determination of Endangered Status for Four Plants and Threatened Status for One Plant From the Central Sierran Foothills of California. Federal Register October 18, 1996.
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