Small goosegrass facts for kids
Galium murale is a small flowering plant. It's often called small goosegrass, yellow wall bedstraw, or tiny bedstraw. This plant belongs to the coffee family. Even though it's in the coffee family, it doesn't produce coffee!
Quick facts for kids Small goosegrass |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Galium
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| Species: |
murale
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Where This Plant Grows
Galium murale naturally grows in many places. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin. This area includes southern Europe and northern Africa. It also grows in the Middle East. You can find it from Turkey and the Caucasus region. It stretches east to Iran and south to Saudi Arabia and Somalia.
This plant is also native to some islands. These include the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores. It has spread to other parts of the world too. It now grows in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile. You can also find it in California. When a plant grows in new places, it is called "naturalised."
What Galium murale Looks Like
Galium murale is an annual herb. This means it completes its whole life cycle in one year. It grows upright stems. These stems are usually only a few centimeters long.
The stems have small leaves. These leaves are arranged in groups. Each group is called a "whorl." There are usually 4 to 6 oval-shaped leaves in each whorl. Each leaf is very tiny. They are usually no more than about 3 millimeters long.
The flowers of Galium murale are also very small. They appear alone or in pairs. You can find them where the leaves meet the stem. Each flower is about a millimeter wide. They are usually greenish or greenish-yellow in color.
After the flowers, the plant produces fruit. The fruit is a tiny nutlet. It is covered in hooked hairs. These hairs help the seeds stick to things. This helps the plant spread its seeds to new places.
See also
In Spanish: Galium murale para niños
