Galium californicum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Gentianales

Familia: Rubiaceae
Subfamilia: Rubioideae
Tribus: Rubieae
Genus: Galium
Species: Galium californicum
Subspecies: G. c. subsp. sierrae
Name

Galium californicum Hook. & Arn.
References

University of California Publications in Botany. Berkeley, CA 46:30. 1968
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Galium californicum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
English: California bedstraw

Galium californicum is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name California bedstraw.

The plant is endemic to California. It grows mainly in moist, shady habitats in hills and mountainous areas, often within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion.[1]

Description

Galium californicum is a variable plant in the form of a small perennial herb to a sprawling woody-based shrub approaching 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height. Its stems and small oval-shaped leaves are hairy.

The plant is dioecious with male plants producing small clusters of staminate flowers and female plants producing solitary flowers. Both types of flower are generally dull yellow. The fruit is a berry covered in soft hairs.
Subspecies

Seven subspecies of Galium californicum, all endemic to California, are currently recognized:[2][3][4]

Galium californicum subsp. californicum — California bedstraw — endemic to the Santa Lucia Mountains of the Outer South California Coast Ranges.[5]
Galium californicum subsp. flaccidum — endemic to the Santa Lucia Mountains of the Outer South California Coast Ranges, Outer and Inner North California Coast Ranges, and San Francisco Bay Area.[6]
Galium californicum subsp. luciense — Cone Peak bedstraw — endemic to the Santa Lucia Mountains, on the Central Coast of California; CNPS rare species.[7]
Galium californicum subsp. maritimum — Coastal California bedstraw — endemic to Outer South California Coast Ranges, San Francisco Peninsula to Southern California.[8]
Galium californicum subsp. miguelense — San Miguel Island bedstraw — endemic to San Miguel Island of the northern Channel Islands, Southern California; CNPS rare species.[9]
Galium californicum subsp. primum — endemic to the San Jacinto Mountains and Chino Hills, Riverside County, California; State threatened species.[10]
Galium californicum subsp. sierrae — El Dorado bedstraw — endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills in El Dorado County; State rare species, federal endangered species.[11][12]

Conservation

One of the subspecies of the plant, the El Dorado bedstraw (Galium californicum subsp. sierrae) is CNPS−California Native Plant Society and State of California listed Rare plant species, and a federally listed Endangered species of the United States. It grows in the gabbro soils of the Pine Hill Ecological Reserve and surrounding area in the interior chaparral and woodlands of the Sierra Nevada foothills in El Dorado County, eastern California. It differs from Galium californicum ssp. californicum by its narrower leaves.[13]
See also

California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands — flora.
Endemic flora of California

References

Biota of North America Program
Calflora Database: Taxon report and varieties for Galium californicum . accessed 54.5.2015
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Dempster, Lauramay Tinsley & Stebbins, George Ledyard. 1968. University of California Publications in Botany 46: 30–32 — accessed May 2014.
Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. californicum
Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. flaccidum
Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. luciense
Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. maritimum
Calflora: Galium californicum subsp. miguelense
Calflora: Galium californicum ssp. primum
Pine Hill Preserve.org: Galium californicum subsp. sierrae (El Dorado bedstraw)
Calflora: Galium californicum ssp. sierrae
USFWS. Determination of Endangered Status for Four Plants and Threatened Status for One Plant From the Central Sierran Foothills of California. Federal Register October 18, 1996.