Wikimedia Commons
Rubiaceae
Lady's Bedstraw
Galium verum
Comfort and rest.
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Genus
- Galium
- Native to
- Europe, Western Asia
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- perennial
- Height
- 1-3 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- dry, well-drained, calcareous
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 3-8
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Medieval legend held that Lady's Bedstraw filled the manger in Bethlehem, earning it the name 'Our Lady's Bedstraw.'
- The plant contains natural rennet enzymes and was traditionally used to curdle milk in cheese-making, especially for Cheshire cheese.
- Dried Lady's Bedstraw was actually stuffed into mattresses as a fragrant, flea-repelling bedding material for centuries.
- The roots produce a red dye similar to madder, while the flowers yield a yellow dye used for coloring textiles and butter.
- It is a host plant for the hummingbird hawk-moth caterpillar, one of Europe's most distinctive day-flying moths.
Color meanings
0
comfort
1
rest
2
motherhood