Galium gaudichaudii

Galium gaudichaudii is a perennial herb in the madder family (Rubiaceae) native to East Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East. The plant produces slender, four-angled stems that are typically erect to ascending, often roughened along the angles with retrorse prickles. Like other bedstraws, its narrow lanceolate to linear leaves are arranged in whorls of four to six at each node and bear minute prickles on the margins and midrib. Small, white to pale yellow-green, four-lobed flowers are borne in terminal and axillary cymes during late spring and summer. The fruit is a dry, two-lobed schizocarp that splits into two indehiscent mericarps, often covered with hooked bristles that aid in dispersal by attaching to passing animals. It occurs in moist meadows, forest margins, streamsides, and disturbed grassy habitats.