About Galium parisiense L.
Galium parisiense L., commonly called wall bedstraw, is an annual herb. It produces lightly hairy, very thin, much-branched, erect stems that grow 15–25 centimetres (6–10 in) tall. The stems bear whorls of leaves, most often six per whorl with a range of four to seven. The leaves are narrow, linear or linear-lanceolate, each only a few millimetres long, and often curve reflexed downwards toward the stem. Each stem is topped with an open inflorescence made of many clusters of tiny flowers, which are greenish-white or tinged with purple. The fruit is a nutlet densely covered in slender hooked bristles. This species flowers between June and August. Wall bedstraw is native to the Mediterranean Basin of southern Europe and northern Africa, and also occurs natively in Turkey, Iran, and the eastern North Atlantic islands of Great Britain, Madeira, the Azores, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. It is also naturalized in parts of North America: it occurs mostly along the Pacific coast of the United States and Canada, and also at scattered locations in the southeastern United States ranging from Texas to Maryland. In its native range, Galium parisiense typically grows on hillsides, stream-banks, and often in rocky habitats. When introduced outside its native range, it can grow in disturbed urban environments, for example among cobblestones in Ghent and in railway marshalling yards in Antwerp. In areas with substantial human disturbance, it is considered a "wall specialist" that easily establishes on historic stone walls.
