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| Galium aparine |
| Family: Rubiaceae (Madder) |
| Flowers — color: white, size: 1/8", style: 4 petals |
Common Bedstraw flowers have four white petals, about 1/8" wide. They fuse to form a tubular throat, where some creamy stamens may be visible. Each petal comes to a graceful point. They grow in tight clusters on a short stem growing from one of the final leaf nodes. I imagine the small green spheres covered in white fuzz are seedpods.
Habit:
Common Bedstraw is a herbaceous annual, more likely in the understory of oak woodlands than drier chaparral or scrub. The main stem is square and holds progressive clusters of leaves. I imagine a palm tree when I see this shape, but the leaves grow around the stem, so botanically this is a whorl. Both stems and leaves are covered in fine sticky hairs, leading to the nickname sticky willow. The stem is not sturdy, so it must cling to other plants to reach sunlight.
Graceful Bedstraw has a woodier, stiffer stem and four leaves at each whorl. Phlox-Leaved Bedstraw has spine-like leaves hiding its stems and a low compact habit.