Threepetal bedstraw facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Threepetal bedstraw |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Galium
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| Species: |
trifidum
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The Threepetal bedstraw, also known as Galium trifidum, is a small flowering plant. It belongs to the coffee family, which might sound surprising! This plant grows in many cold and mild parts of the Northern Hemisphere. You can find it across northern and central Asia, northern and eastern Europe, and a large part of North America. It stretches from places like Greenland all the way down to Oaxaca in Mexico and Hispaniola.
What Threepetal Bedstraw Looks Like
The Threepetal bedstraw is usually a plant that lives for more than two years. It forms messy groups of thin stems. These stems can grow up to about half a meter (around 20 inches) long. Its stems have rings of leaves called whorls. The leaves are long and thin, or sometimes oval-shaped.
The plant produces small clusters of flowers. These flowers are usually white or a light pink color. Each flower typically has three petal-like parts. These parts are called lobes, and they form the flower's corolla.
Different Types of Threepetal Bedstraw
Scientists have found that there are five main types, or subspecies, of Threepetal bedstraw. These different types are found in various parts of the world:
- One type, Galium trifidum subsp. brevipes, grows in Canada and the northern United States.
- Another type, Galium trifidum subsp. columbianum, is found in the Russian Far East, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and parts of western North America. This includes Alaska, British Columbia, Washington state, Oregon, and California.
- Galium trifidum subsp. halophilum grows in eastern Canada, like Quebec and Newfoundland, and parts of the northeastern United States.
- Galium trifidum subsp. subbiflorum is found in Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. It also grows in high mountain areas of the western United States.
- The most common type, Galium trifidum subsp. trifidum, is found almost everywhere the species grows.
See also
In Spanish: Galium trifidum para niños
