RUBIACEAE MADDER OR BEDSTRAW FAMILY Plant: herbs, woody vines, shrubs, and trees Stem: often with square stems, sometimes bristly Root: Leaves: simple, opposite or whorled, rarely alternate; stipules present and sometimes as large as leaves Flowers: mostly perfect (some monoecious or dioecious); mostly 4 or 5 (petals, sepals, and stamens); flowers often in a branched cluster; ovary inferior Fruit: capsule 2 chambered, berry or drupe; many seeds Other: large and important family giving - ipecac, coffee, quinine, and abundant ornamentals; Dicotyledons Group Genera: 600+ genera WARNING family descriptions are only a layman s guide and should not be used as definitive
Flower Morphology in the Rough Bedstraw Common Buttonbush Small Bluets Narrow-Leaved Summer Bluets
RUBIACEAE MADDER OR BEDSTRAW FAMILY Common Buttonbush; Cephalanthus occidentalis L. Piedmont Bedstraw; Cruciata pedemontana (Bellardi) Ehrend. (Introduced) Rough Buttonweed [Poorjoe]; Diodia teres Walt. Virginia Buttonweed; Diodia virginiana L. Cleavers [stickywilly]; Galium aparine L. Arkansas Bedstraw; Galium arkansanum A. Gray Rough Bedstraw; Galium asprellum Michx. Northern Bedstraw; Galium boreale L. Wild Licorice [Licorice Bedstraw]; Galium circaezans Michx. Shining Bedstraw; Galium concinnum Torr. & A. Gray Lanceleaf Wild Licorice; Galium lanceolatum Torr. Bluntleaf Bedstraw [Wild Madder]; Galium obtusum Bigelow ssp. obtusum Hairy Bedstraw; Galium pilosum Aiton Stiff Marsh Bedstraw; Galium tinctorium (L.) Scop. Azure Bluet [Bluets; Quaker Ladies]; Houstonia caerulea L. Narrow-Leaved Summer Bluets; Houstonia nigricans (Lam.) Fern. Roundleaf [Clustered] Bluet; Houstonia procumbens (Walter ex J.F. Gmel.) Standl. Venus' Pride; Houstonia purpurea L. var. calycosa A. Gray Venus' Pride; Houstonia purpurea L. var. purpurea Small Bluets; Houstonia pusilla Schoefp [Houstonia minima] Partridgeberry [Twin Berry]; Mitchella repens L. [Blue] Fieldmadder; Sherardia arvensis L. (Introduced) Smooth False Buttonweed; Spermacoce glabra Michx. Diamond Flowers [Narrow-Leaved Summer Bluets]; Stenaria nigricans (Lam.) Terrell var. nigricans
Common Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis L. Maumee Bay State Park, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: shrub; flowers white, tubular, in dense globose heads; leaves opposite or in whorls USDA of 3, usually with minute stipules, hairy or not (some put into varieties); swamps or wet areas; summer [V Max Brown, 2006]
Piedmont Bedstraw Cruciata pedemontana (Bellardi) Ehrend. (Introduced) Alley Springs, Ozark National Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri Notes: 4-lobed flower, yellow, minute, on peduncles from leaf axils (peduncles shorter than leaves); leaves whorled (4), with spreading hairs; stem with hairs and downward curving prickles; erect plant; disturbed sites, native of Europe; spring [V Max Brown, 2010]
Rough Buttonweed [Poorjoe] Diodia teres Walt. Alley Springs, Ozark National Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri Notes: 4-lobed tubular or funnel-like flower, small, white to purplish, 4 sepals, in leaf axils surrounded by long stipular bristles; leaves stiff, lanceolate to linear, opposite; somewhat shrubby plant; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2007]
Virginia Buttonweed Diodia virginiana L. Lake Charles State Park, Lawrence County, Arkansas Notes: 4-lobed, long tubular flower, white to pink, in leaf axils, 2 toothed sepals, style split; leaves ovate to somewhat lanceolate, opposite; long USDA hairs on stem angles, nodes and sepals; ascending to somewhat prostrate, wet or low soils; summer [V Max Brown, 2007]
Cleavers [stickywilly] Galium aparine L. Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 4-lobed flower, small, white, clustered (1-3); leaves whorled (6-8), single-veined, with stiff hairs; stem square with hooked hairs; fruit hairy or bristly; erect to reclining plant; spring to early summer [V Max Brown, 2004]
Arkansas Bedstraw Galium arkansanum A. Gray Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Christian County, Missouri Notes: 4-lobed flower, purple, small; leaves whorled in 4 s, narrow lanceolate, widest below middle, 3 veined, sharp tip, hairy; stem very hairy on edges; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2010] USDA
Rough Bedstraw Galium asprellum Michx. Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 4-lobed flower, white, small; leaves whorled (4-6, usually 6), mostly widest above middle, stiff hairs on margins; stems weak, often trailing, very rough due to downwardpointed hooked hairs; fruits glabrous; late summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2004]
Northern Bedstraw Galium boreale L. Waterloo Recreation Area, Washtenaw County, Michigan Notes: 4-lobed flower, white, small and often sharp pointed, with distinctive pedicel, many flowers; leaves whorled mostly in 4 s, linear to somewhat linear-lanceolate, tips rounded, usually with 3 (-5) veins (at base); stems erect, often much branched, mostly glabrous; fruits glabrous or not; late summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2008]
Wild Licorice [Licorice Bedstraw] Galium circaezans Michx. Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 4-lobed flower, green to greenish-yellow, small, sessile or not; leaves whorled in 4 s, elliptical to oval, widest at middle, 3-5 veined, somewhat hairy; fruits with bristles; mostly erect plant; woods; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2007]
Shining Bedstraw Galium concinnum Torr. & A. Gray Goll Woods Nature Preserve, Fulton County, Ohio Notes: 4-lobed flower, white, small; leaves whorled (mostly 6, usually less (4) on uppermost stems), linear to slightly elliptical, margins with short hairs or smooth, tip mostly acute; stems weak, semi-erect, small downward-pointed hooked hairs, nodes with ring of hair; plant very branching; fruits glabrous; late spring to early fall [V Max Brown, 2008]
Lanceleaf Wild Licorice Galium lanceolatum Torr. Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 4-lobed flower, green to greenish-purple, small, sessile or not; leaves whorled in 4 s, wide lanceolate, widest below middle, 3-5 veined, sharp tip, hairy; woods; fruit with bristles; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2007]
Bluntleaf Bedstraw [Wild Madder] Galium obtusum Bigelow ssp. obtusum Waterville area, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 4-lobed flower, white, small; leaves whorled (mostly 4), linear to elliptical, margins with short hairs or smooth, tip obtuse; stems weak, semi-erect, mostly smooth or glabrous, somewhat angled; plant very branching; fruits glabrous; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2008]
Hairy Bedstraw Galium pilosum Aiton Wire Road Conservation Area, Stone County, Missouri Notes: 4-lobed flower, small, purple to maroon, on stalks up to 10 mm at fruiting (less before usually); leaves whorled (4 per node), usually elliptical with blunt tip, 3 veins from base, hairy; stem erect to somewhat weak and spreading, hairy; fruit to 2.5 mm in diameter, with dense hooked hairs; erect to reclining plant; summer [V Max Brown, 2014]
Stiff Marsh Bedstraw Galium tinctorium (L.) Scop. Irwin Prarie Nature Preserve; Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 3-lobed flower (rarely 4), white, very small, pedicels mostly straight; leaves whorled (4-5-6), linear to somewhat elliptical, margins with short hairs, tip mostly obtuse; stems mostly erect to somewhat reclining, somewhat rough; fruits glabrous; late spring to early fall [V Max Brown, 2008]
Azure Bluet [Bluets; Quaker Ladies] Houstonia caerulea L. Brown County State Park, Brown County, Indiana Notes: 4-lobed flower, light blue to blue or sometimes purple, yellow center, small, solitary on long pedicel, sepals short and sharp-pointed; stem leaves few, opposite, narrow lanceolate to somewhat linear, basal leaves ovate to somewhat spatulate; plants often in clumps; spring to summer to possibly fall [V Max Brown, 2009]
Longleaf Summer Bluet Houstonia longifolia Gaertn. Alley Springs, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri Notes: 4-lobed flower, white to bluish, very hairy inside lobe; stem leaves opposite, sessile, linear, 1-veined, stipules triangular, usually no extra leaves; much branched; late spring to summer (ID tentative) [V Max Brown, 2007]
Roundleaf [Clustered] Bluet Houstonia procumbens (Walter ex J.F. Gmel.) Standl. Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, Levy County, Florida Notes: 4-lobed flower, white often with some blue markings, with long pedicel, sepal lobes short and sharp-pointed; stem leaves thick and fleshy, elliptical to oval with short tip; plants often in clumps, rarely reaching 6 in in height; spring to summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2011]
Venus' Pride Houstonia purpurea L. var. calycosa A. Gray Roaring River State Park, Barry County, Missouri USDA Notes: 4-lobed flower, white to purple tinted, hairy inside corolla, several flowers in terminal cluster; leaves opposite, sessile, lanceolate to ovate, 3-5 veins at least in lower leaves, 2.5 to 6x length to width (more lanceolate than var. purpurea; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2011]
Venus' Pride Houstonia purpurea L. var. purpurea Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Christian County, Missouri Notes: 4-lobed flower, white with purple markings inside tube, several flowers in terminal cluster; leaves opposite, sessile, ovate (often up to 3+ cm wide), 3-5 veins, stipules small and triangular; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2010]
Small Bluets Houstonia pusilla Schoefp [including H. minima] Sam A. Baker State Park, Wayne County, Missouri Notes: 4-lobed flower, blue (rarely white) with reddish center, small, solitary, sepals mostly less than length of tube and broadly lanceolate, stamens hidden; basal leaves ovate, stem leaves more lanceolate; spring [V Max Brown, 2006]
Partridgeberry [Twin Berry] Mitchella repens L. Pickle Springs Natural Area, St. Geneve County, Missouri Notes: 3-6 (usually 4) lobed funnel-shaped flower, white; leaves opposite, ovate, petiolate; plants evergreen, usually prostrate and creeping (mat-forming); fruit a red berry with 2 dimples; woods, acid soils; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2009]
[Blue] Fieldmadder Sherardia arvensis L. (Introduced) Batesville, Independence County, Arkansas Notes: 4 (5)-lobed flower, light blue to pink, long corolla tube, calyx lobes lanceolate, flowers surrounded by leaf-like structures; leaves whorled (4-8, mostly 5), linear to narrowly elliptical, hairy; stems weak, semi-erect, particularly hairy USDA on stem angles; plant very branching forming a weakly erect mat; native of Europe; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2009]
Smooth False Buttonweed Spermacoce glabra Michx. Shawnee State Park, Scioto County, Ohio Notes: 4-lobed flower, white, very small, sessile in upper stem axils and terminal clusters; stem leaves opposite, sessile, narrowly laceolate to almost elliptical, entire, stipules with linear filaments; stem ridged; plant erect to sprawling; a SE US species found in Ohio along Ohio River mud flats; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2009]
Diamond Flowers [Narrow- Leaved Summer Bluets] Stenaria nigricans (Lam.) Terrell var. nigricans Alley Springs, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri Notes: 4-lobed flower, white to bluish, very hairy inside; stem leaves opposite, sessile, linear, 1- USDA veined, mid and lower leaves with extra linear leaves, stipules with slender tips; late spring to fall (ID tentative) [V Max Brown, 2006]