Galium hallii

Nodding bedstraw, Nodding Bedstraw

Family: Rubiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Nodding bedstraw is a California native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada, southern Coast Ranges, and Transverse Ranges on north-facing slopes, canyon bottoms, and mixed conifer forests at elevations of 820 to 2,350 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces cream-colored flowers in small drooping clusters. Growing as a subshrub 30 to 60 centimeters tall with woody stems that climb and sprawl, it has a distinctively grayish-hairy appearance. Its leaves grow in whorls of 4, measuring 6 to 17 millimeters long, with widely ovate to elliptic shapes and obtuse to acute tips. The fruit develops as nutlets with long, straight hairs that range from white to red-brown and can appear bluish or grayish.

Habitat: N-facing slopes, canyon bottoms, mixed conifer forest, oaks or sagebrush

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 820-2350 m

Bioregions: s SNH, s SCoRI (Caliente Range), s SCoRO (Sierra Madre Range), TR.

California counties: Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Tulare, Inyo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo

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