Marsh Bedstraw

Scientific Name - Galium tinctorium L.
Family - Rubiaceae

Perennial with spreading or reclining, branched stems. Stems angled, with downwardly pointing sandpapery hairs on the angles. Leaves whorled, four to six at each node, narrow, sometimes, enlarged at the tip. Flowers white, small, usually three-lobed, in clusters of two or three at the tips of branches. Fruit black, smooth, nearly round and in pairs. Reproduces by seed. Found in roadside ditches, marshes, swamps, and other moist sites. Occurs from Nebraska into the central, eastern and southern United States into Florida, and west to Texas and Arizona. Also occurs in Newfoundland, Ontario and Quebec.