Lady's bedstraw
Scientific name: Galium verum
Family: Rubiaceae
Other common names; leaves linear; corollas golden-yellow;
Flowering time: June to September
Height: to 30cm
Growing conditions: Full sun to part shade, alkaline to neutral soil.
Nectar source for: many bees and butterflies
Food source for: food for caterpillars of several moths, including hummingbird hawk-moth
Description
Was used to stuff mattresses; contains coumarin which is a flea repellant; flowers were used to coagulate milk in cheese-making and to colour Double Gloucester cheese; also used to make red and yellow dyes. Smells of honey. Once established it is a drought tolerant plant.
How to identify: Lady's bedstraw has small, narrow leaves that appear in whorls on its angular stems. The stems carry frothy heads of tiny, yellow flowers that appear in dense clusters.
How to propagate: Propagate by seed as soon as they are ripe.
Family: Rubiaceae
Other common names; leaves linear; corollas golden-yellow;
Flowering time: June to September
Height: to 30cm
Growing conditions: Full sun to part shade, alkaline to neutral soil.
Nectar source for: many bees and butterflies
Food source for: food for caterpillars of several moths, including hummingbird hawk-moth
Description
Was used to stuff mattresses; contains coumarin which is a flea repellant; flowers were used to coagulate milk in cheese-making and to colour Double Gloucester cheese; also used to make red and yellow dyes. Smells of honey. Once established it is a drought tolerant plant.
How to identify: Lady's bedstraw has small, narrow leaves that appear in whorls on its angular stems. The stems carry frothy heads of tiny, yellow flowers that appear in dense clusters.
How to propagate: Propagate by seed as soon as they are ripe.