Sep 16, 2023
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Cruciata laevipes - smooth bedstraw
Day 21 3 weeks in and 3 more to come.
The Governments COBRA committee met today. A group of learned politicos, science nerds and well meaning military types. They have consigned us to another 3 weeks of lockdown. No surprise there, then.
Sylvie had set her mind to a longer walk today. Combining bits of one across the fields and on to the common land and back via the airport. All in all, around 8.5km or 5.25m in old money. Great to get out and to banish the cobwebs from the mind - just too easy to give up, some days.
Still finding new wild flowers to add to our collection. Today was the smooth bedstraw. Not particularly pretty, but it’s mother loves it.
Cruciata laevipes is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is commonly known as crosswort, smooth bedstraw or Luc na croise in Gaelic.[2] The Latin epithet laevipes refers to the smooth stalk. This perennial sprawling plant can grow to a height of 15–70 cm (6–28 in), spreads by seeds and stolons and has, unusually amongst this group, yellow hermaphrodite flowers. The inner flowers are male and soon fall off, whilst the outer are bisexual and produce the fruit. The flowers smell of honey. Of the whorls of four leaves, only two in each group are real leaves, the other two being stipules.[3] It is associated with arbuscular mycorrhiza that penetrate the cortical cells of the roots. In the United Kingdom it flowers April to June.[4] Pollination is by bees and flies.[5]
Back home to a well earned conversation with San Miguel and a rest in the warm evening sunshine.
Smooth Bedstraw
Smooth Bedstraw (Galium Mollugo)
Edible leaves. Roots can be used to make a red dye.
For more information: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Galium+mollugo
For more on galiums: http://www.eattheweeds.com/galium-aparine-goosegrass-on-the-loose-2/