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Published In: Species Plantarum 1: 105. 1753. (1 May 1753) (Sp. Pl.) Name publication detailView in BotanicusView in Biodiversity Heritage Library
 

Project Name Data (Last Modified On 6/2/2011)
Acceptance : Accepted
Project Data     (Last Modified On 6/3/2011)
Contributor Text: S. NAZIMUDDIN AND M. QAISER
General/Distribution: About 400 species, distributed chiefly in temperate region. Represented in Pakistan by 24 species.

 

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Herbs or prickly erect or scandent weak shrubs; stem sometimes terete, sometimes retrorsely aculeolate. Leaves usually 4 or more in a whorl, rarely opposite, stipulate. Inflorescence of axillary or terminal cymes, ultimate branches of the inflorescence often without bracts, bracteoles always absent. Flowers usually bisexual, (3-) 4-memos, minute, pedicel always longer than the ovary and fruit. Calyx-tube ovoid or globose, limb lacking. Corolla rotate, usually cup-shaped, rarely infundibuliform. Stamens 4, rarely 3, included, filaments short, anthers didymous. Ovary 2-loculed, ovoid; styles 2, short; stigmas capitate. Fruit small, ovoid, dry, rarely somewhat fleshy, pubescent or hispid with hooked hairs, sometimes glabrous.

The generic name Galium is derived from Greek word gala which means milk- because Galium verum was formerly used to curdle milk in cheese making. It is a very difficult genus with little character differences; specific delimitaiton particularly at the margin of distributional ranges are not often clear-cut and the characters are intergrading.

 

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1.Internodes shorter than the leaves
Galium ceratophylloides
1.Internodes longer than the leaves
2.Fruit glabrous or granulate
3.Fruiting pedicel decurved. Fruit 3-5 mm in diameter
4.Plants glabrous. Fruit smooth or rough but not granulate, often with white sunken hair-like raphide crystals
Galium kurramensis
4.Plants scabrid Fruit granulate, without sunken hair-like raphide crystals
Galium tricornutum
3.Fruiting pedicel ± straight. Fruit less than 3 mm in diameter
5.Flowering branches leafy (leaves of flowering branches much smaller than the vegetative leaves)
6.Inflorescence divaricately branched. Main stem either minutely scabrid, or minutely to strongly scabrid, or angles smooth
7.Corolla lobes lanceolate, shortly apiculate. Leaf margins recurved, with antrorsely papiliform teeth
Galium saturejifolium
7.Corolla lobes ovate, acuminate. Leaves only scabrous above, specially on midrib and margins
8.Leaves always in a whorl of 4
Galium tetraphyllum
8.Leaves in a whorl of 6-8
Galium asperifolium
6.Inflorescence not divaricately branched. Main stem glabrous
9.Fruits glabrous-granulate. Pedicel small, always smaller than flower
Galium acutum
9.Fruits papillose with curved setose hairs. Pedicel elongated always larger than flower
10.Flowers yellowish brown upon drying. Inflorescence reduced to few flowers. Leaves in approximate whorls of 6, margins scarcely revolute
Galium campylotrichum
10.Flowers purplish upon drying. Inflorescence not reduced. Leaves in whorls of 6-8, margins revolute
Galium subfalcatum
5.Flowering branches not leafy
11.Leaves elliptic, lanceolate or oblanceolate, usually obtuse
Galium spurium
11.Leaves linear, acute or cuspidata
12.Inflorescence terminal or subterminal. Pedicel c. 2 mm long. Corolla bright yellow. Stem pubescent-glabrate; leaves 8-10 (-12) in a whorl
Galium verum
12.Inflorescence axillary and terminal. Pedicel 3-5 mm long. Corolla usually white. Stem minutely scabrid; leaves 6 in a whorl
13.Cymes 5-8 cm long, laxly divaricately branched. Fruit c. 1-1.5 mm across, smooth, mericarps mostly free
Galium tenuissimum
13.Cymes 2-3 cm long, forked. Fruit 2-2.5 mm across, covered with white sunken hair like markings, mericarps not free
Galium chitralensis
2.Fruit hairy
14.Leaves trinerved beneath
15.Upper surface of the leaves glabrous. Leaves lanceolate
Galium boreale
15.Upper surface of the Leaves hairy or pubescent Leaves ovate-obovate or elliptic
16.Fruit covered with soft whitish hooked hairs. Leaves 10-30 x 5-15 mm, villous, pubescent beneath
Galium elegans
16.Fruit with short compressed hairs. Leaves 6-9 x 3-5 mm, covered on nerves with hooked hairs
Galium stewartii
14.Leaves not trinerved
17.Leaves 4 in a whorl. Fruit covered with dense long woolly straight hairs
Galium serpylloides
17.Leaves (4-) 6-8 (-10). Fruit covered with hooked bristles
18.Branches filiform. Fruit c. 1 mm in diameter
19.Fruit with few short hooked hairs. Corolla shortly apiculate or muticous
Galium decaisnei
19.Fruit covered with long hooked hairs. Corolla lobes acute or cuspidate
Galium setaceum
18.Branches not filiform. Fruit 2 or more than 2 mm in diameter
20.Inflorescence terminal or subterminal
Galium asperuloides
20.Inflorescence axillary and terminal
21.Bracts foliaceous. lorescence paniculate. Stem and leaves usually laxly covered with long weak hairs
Galium hirtiflorum
21.Bracts not foliaceous. Inflorescence 1-3 flowered cyme. Stem and leaves not covered with long, weak hairs
22.Inflorescence more than 1-flowered
Galium aparine
22.Inflorescence 1-flowered
23.Stem unbranched, ± filiform. Leaves linear or narrowly lanceolate
Galium pauciflorum
23.Stem branched, quadrangular. Leaves oblanceolate-lanceolate
Galium ibicinum
 
 
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