Plant Name
Scientific Name: Galium aparine
Synonyms: Galium agreste var. echinospermum, G. spurium, G. vaillantii
Common Names: Stickywilly, Common Bedstraw, Goose Grass, Goosegrass, Cleavers, Catchweed Bedstraw, Cleaverwort, Scarthgrass, White Hedge
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Vine, Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain, Riparian
Flower Color: White
Flowering Season: Spring
Height: Sprawling to 35 inches (89 cm) tall
Description: The flowers are tiny and have 4 petals. The leaves are narrow, sessile, point-tipped, and in whorls of 6 to 8 around the stems. The plants are covered in tiny, hooked hairs that stick to clothing. The numerous stems are weak, slender, and sprawling.
Settlers used masses of the dried plants as soft mattress stuffing.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Rubiales
Family: Rubiaceae – Madder family
Genus: Galium L. – bedstraw
Species: Galium aparine L. – stickywilly
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