Galium californicum

California bedstraw

Family: Rubiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

California bedstraw is a California native perennial found in mixed montane habitats at elevations of 500 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces small yellow-green flowers in delicate clusters. Growing with slender stems 5 to 90 centimeters tall, it forms low cushion-like to slightly climbing formations with distinctive hairy textures. Its leaves grow in distinctive whorls of 4, each leaf 2 to 25 millimeters long, with ovate to elliptic shapes and acute to obtuse tips. The plant produces small berries that are occasionally hairy, reflecting its unique dioecious nature.

California counties: Lake, Colusa, Mendocino, Humboldt, Monterey, Placer, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Alameda, Santa Barbara, San Diego, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Siskiyou, Los Angeles, Tulare, Marin, Sonoma, San Mateo, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Trinity, Napa, Butte

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.