Lady's Bedstraw
Galium verum
The plant contains an enzyme that curdles milk and was historically used in Britain as an alternative to rennet for cheese production.
- Scientific name
- Galium verum
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Gentianales › Rubiaceae › Galium
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Dry meadows, calcareous grasslands, heaths, roadside verges, and coastal sand dunes.
- Diet
- Autotroph
- Range
- Europe, Temperate Asia, North Africa, North America
- Size
- Stems reach 30 to 100 cm in height
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Agricultural intensification, excessive fertilizer application, and loss of unimproved grasslands to development.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Lady's bedstraw is non-toxic and safe to touch or brush against. Rare sensitive individuals may experience mild contact skin irritation, which resolves with soap and water.
Galium verum ( lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw ) is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is naturalized in Tasmania, New Zealand, Canada, and the northern half of the United States.
Photo: Benjamin Flatt, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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