Galium boreale
| Galium boreale | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Galium boreale (common name: northern bedstraw)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in situ as soon as it is ripe in late summer[1]. The seed can also be sown in spring though it may be very slow to germinate[1]. This plant does not really need any help to reproduce itself.
Division in spring or throughout the growing season if the plants are kept well watered[1]. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Cultivation: Prefers a loose moist leafy soil in some shade[1]. Tolerates dry soils but the leaves quickly become scorched when growing in full sun[1]. This species does not thrive in a hot climate[1].
Range: Northern and central Europe, including Britain, south and west to N. Italy and W. Asia.
Habitat: Rocky slopes and streamsides, moraine, scree, shingle, stable dunes etc, to 1050 metres in N. Britain[2].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[3][4].
A tea is made from the flowering stems[4].
Medicinal: The plant is diaphoretic and diuretic[5]. A decoction has been used as a contraceptive[5].
A number of species in this genus contain asperuloside, a substance that produces coumarin and gives the scent of new-mown hay as the plant dries[6]. Asperuloside can be converted into prostaglandins (hormone-like compounds that stimulate the uterus and affect blood vessels), making the genus of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry[6].
Usage: A red dye is obtained from the root[7][4].
The plant is used as a stuffing material for mattresses etc[4][8].
Pollinators: Flies, beetles, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.
- ↑ Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.