Field Madder

Scientific Name - Sherardia arvensis L.
Family - Rubiaceae

Low-growing, mat-forming winter annual with square stems. Leaves whorled, four to six per node, elliptic in shape with sharply-pointed tips. Flowers, lavender to pink, in clusters at ends of stems. Reproduces by seed. Found in the mountains and piedmont of the southern states, west into east Texas and Arkansas, north into southern Canada, California and the Pacific Northwest. Also found in the West Indies, Central America, Hawaii, Europe, and Australia.