Yellow bedstraw, lady's bedstraw

Galium verum

Yellow bedstraw in front of a fence — Yellow bedstraw with shoots over a meter long, probably reaching this height thanks to the climbing help of the fence and shrub.

Description

Yellow bedstraw or lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum) is a perennial plant. It usually grows between 30 and 70 centimeters tall, occasionally taller, and spreads by runners and seeds. It can show its small yellow flowers from June to September.

silvery leaves on Galium verum — First impressions can be deceptive. The silvery leaves do not belong to a form or subspecies of Galium verum …

yellow bedstraw mildew — … but are caused by mildew.

Distribution

Galium verum was originally native to most of Europe, North Africa, and Asia, where its range extended from West Asia to East Asia (source).

Due to the spread of humans, yellow bedstraw is now also found as an introduced species in Greenland, New Zealand and the USA (source).

bedstraw and yarrow in a meadow — Yellow bedstraw and yarrow (Achillea millefolium) in a meadow.

Biotopes

Yellow bedstraw can be found in meadows, on embankments, along roadsides, and in urban areas it can grow on traffic islands. This member of the Rubiaceae family tolerates poor and dry soils.

Uses

As a dye plant and for making cheese (source).

Pollinators

Although it grows in my garden, I have seen almost no pollinating insects on yellow bedstraw. With the exception of the beetle shown below, which is unknown to me.