Ethnobotany

1. Narrowleaf Bedstraw – Galium angustifolium ssp. angustifolium
(GAL-ee-um an-gus-tee-FOH-lee-um)
Family: Rubiaceae (Madder Family)
Native to: The local ssp. (angustifolium) is limited to southwestern California, Baja and the southern
Sierras; usually found in dry often shaded places, including cliffs and canyons below 8000 ft.
elevation (many plant communities).
Growth characteristics: perennial/sub-shrub mature height: 1-3 ft. mature width: 3-4 ft.
Sprawling herbaceous perennial with a woody base. Leaves are attractive bright green, strap-like in
whorls. Plant grows quickly with winter rains, dies back to ground in summer drought period.
Blooms/fruits: Blooms in spring, time depending on rains. Plant are dioecious (separate male and
female plants). Flowers are tiny, yellow (male) or white (female), in flat clumps above the foliage.
Hundreds of flowers make this plant quite showy in bloom.
Uses in the garden: Best used as a spring-blooming deciduous perennial under oaks (and other
large Zone 1 or 1-2 plants) and in dry shady mixed beds. In nature, often found with other shade-
tolerant native annuals like Chinese Houses, shrubs and grasses. Place among other plants, as it
dies back in summer.
Sensible substitute for: Non-native Galiums (Sweet Woodruff and others)
Attracts: Bird eat the seeds.
Requirements:
Element Requirement
Sun Full sun along immediate coast; part sun in most gardens
Soil Any
Water Zone 1-2 to 2-3; no summer water to occasional water; drought tolerant in shade
Fertilizer None needed; organic mulches ok
Other
Management: Cut back to just above woody stem in fall (if does not die back naturally)
Propagation: from seed: charred wood increases germination by divisions: probably, winter
Plant/seed sources (see list for source numbers): 1, 12, 13, 16 1/19/15
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