Northern Bedstraw
Galium boreale
Northern Bedstraw (Galium boreale) is a native perennial with square stems, narrow leaves in whorls of four, and showy branching clusters of tiny white flowers. It blooms June into September on prairies, woodlands, hillsides and roadsides in the Black Hills and other parts of South Dakota, often forming large colonies. Photographed in the Black Hills.
| Family | Rubiaceae · Madder |
|---|---|
| Status | Native perennial |
| Blooms | June into September |
| Height | 20–70 cm (8–28 in) |
| Where | Prairies, woodlands, hillsides and roadsides; part shade to full sun |
| Also called | čhaŋȟlóǧaŋ ská waštémna (Lakota) |
| Traditional use | A 1998 Sitting Bull College list of culturally important Lakota plants records that women wore the dried stems under their belts as a perfume, and that red dye was made from the roots. |
Roots, seeds & germination
Root: Creeping rhizomes (underground stems).
Seed: A dry, round fruit about 2 mm long that splits into two seed-like parts. It ripens in late summer and fall.
Germination: Sow in fall, or give seed 120 days of cold, moist treatment before spring planting.
How do you identify Northern Bedstraw?
Count the leaves at a stem joint: four, long and narrow, with three parallel veins and no teeth. The stems stand upright and the tiny white flowers, each with four pointed lobes, are massed in branching clusters at the top. Sweet-scented Bedstraw has six broader leaves at each joint and greenish-white flowers, usually in threes.
When does it bloom?
June into September.
Where does it grow?
Prairies, woodlands, hillsides and roadsides, in rocky to loamy, well-drained soil. In South Dakota it is listed for the Black Hills, the Coteau des Prairies and northern counties.
Other flowers to compare
Sources: SDSU Open PRAIRIE: Galium boreale; Minnesota Wildflowers: Northern Bedstraw; Utah State University Extension, Range Plants of Utah: Northern Bedstraw; Minnesota Wildflowers: Fragrant Bedstraw; Culturally Important Plants of the Lakota (Black Elk and Flying By, Sitting Bull College, 1998), filed with the South Dakota PUC.