Galium verum L.

Galium verum is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is naturalized in Tasmania, New Zealand, Canada, and the northern half of the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Synonyms 48

Asterophyllum galium, Galium approximatum, Galium bassitense, Galium bracteolatum, Galium caucasicum, Galium floridum, Galium gironae, Galium glabratum, Galium lacteum, Galium leonis, Galium luteoverticillatum, Galium mauryi, Galium minutum, Galium officinale, Galium pallidiflorum, Galium pentandrum, Galium poligamum, Galium pseudoverum, Galium squarrosum, Galium sublutaeum, Galium tenderiense, Galium tomentellum, Galium tuberculatum, Galium verosimile, Galium wettsteinii, Rubia vera, Galium vernum subsp. alpinum, Galium verum subsp. leiophyllum, Galium verum subsp. maritimum, Galium verum subsp. ochroleucum, Galium verum subsp. pamiroalaicum, Galium luteum var. brachycarpum, Galium luteum var. trachyphyllum, Galium palustre var. effusum, Galium palustre var. vulgare, Galium verum var. albidum, Galium verum var. asiaticum, Galium verum var. asparagifolium, Galium verum var. compactum, Galium verum var. depressum, Galium verum var. hallasanense, Galium verum var. intermedium, Galium verum var. japonalpinum, Galium verum var. leiophyllum, Galium verum var. littorale, Galium verum var. luteum, Galium verum var. maritimum, Galium verum var. pallidiflorum

842,972 GBIF occurrences
54,628 iNaturalist observations

Conservation status code

Conservation: status label

Least Concern

Conservation: population trend

Stable

Conservation: year assessed

2026

IUCN Red List page

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/203461/209223688

Habitats

Threats

IUCN: population narrative

There have been declines with changes and improvements to grasslands; however, it remains a common invasive throughout its distribution (BSBI/BRC 2024).

IUCN: habitat narrative

A low-growing stoloniferous perennial herb forming dense patches in short grassland, open woodland, fixed sand dunes and along roadsides and hedgebanks. It is a common wayside flower which blooms throughout summer, and the flowers have a strong coumarin (sweet hay-like) scent. This species can hybridise with G. album, G. glaucum and G. mollugo (Forey 1991, Blamey and Grey-Wilson 2003).

IUCN: threats narrative

Conversion of land for agricultural purposes may impact some subpopulations, but overall, the population is relatively stable (BSBI/BRC 2024).

IUCN: conservation narrative

It is listed as Vulnerable in Finland (Rassi et al. 2010, Hyvärinen et al. 2019) and Least Concern in Denmark (NERI 2007, Aarhus Universitet 2019), Estonia (eElurikkus 2024), Germany (Ludwig and Schnittler 1996, Metzing et al. 2018), Luxembourg (Colling 2005), Norway (Artsdatabanken 2024), Switzerland (Moser et al. 2002) and the United Kingdom (Cheffings and Farrell 2005).The species is represented by 102 germplasm accessions held at European institutions (EURISCO 2024) and is included in the living collection of at least 119 botanical gardens (BGCI 2024). It occurs in many protected areas, including Natura 2000 sites (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2024, GBIF.org 2024).

IUCN: rationale

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC) EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)This species is classified as Least Concern for both Europe and for the EU27 Member States due to its widespread distribution, stable populations and no major known threats.

Galium verum L.

Related species

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