Galium spurium
| Galium spurium | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Galium spurium (common name: false cleavers)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in situ as soon as it is ripe in late summer. The seed can also be sown in situ in the spring though it may be very slow to germinate.
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: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat: Plants are doubtfully native in Britain but are well established in arable fields in Essex and in a few other scattered localities[2].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[3]. A famine food, used as a last resort[4].
Medicinal: 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[5]. 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[5].
Usage: A red dye is obtained from the root[6].
Pollinators: Flies, beetles, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: G. vaillantii.DC.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 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.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.