*** Welcome to piglix ***

Sweet woodruff

Galium odoratum
Galium odoratum Flower.JPG
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Galium
Species: G. odoratum
Binomial name
Galium odoratum
(L.) Scop.
Synonyms
  • Asperula odorata L.
  • Galium matrisylva F.H.Wigg.
  • Asperula odora Salisb.
  • Chlorostemma odoratum (L.) Fourr.
  • Asperula matrisylva Gilib.
  • Asperula zangezurensis Huseynov.
  • Asterophyllum asperula Schimp. & Spenn. in F.C.L.Spenner
  • Asterophyllum sylvaticum Schimp. & Spenn. in F.C.L.Spenner
  • Asperula eugeniae K.Richt.
  • Galium odoratum var. eugeniae (K.Richt.) Ehrend. in E.Janchen

Galium odoratum, the sweetscented bedstraw, is a flowering perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to much of Europe from Spain and Ireland to Russia, as well as Western Siberia, Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus. It is also sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in the United States and Canada. It is widely cultivated for its flowers and its sweet-smelling foliage.

A herbaceous plant, it grows to 30–50 cm (12–20 in) long, often lying flat on the ground or supported by other plants. Its vernacular names include woodruff, sweet woodruff, and wild baby's breath; master of the woods would be a literal translation of the German Waldmeister. It is sometimes confused with Galium triflorum and Galium verum.

It owes its sweet smell to the odiferous agent coumarin, and is sometimes used as a flavoring agent due to its chemical content.

The leaves are simple, lanceolate, glabrous, 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) long, and borne in whorls of 6–9. The small (4–7 mm diameter) flowers are produced in cymes, each white with four petals joined together at the base. The fruits are 2–4 mm diameter, produced singly, and each is covered in tiny hooked bristles which help disperse them by sticking temporarily to clothing and animal fur.


...
Wikipedia

...