Friday, May 21, 2010

Rough bedstraw


This mysterious-looking shadowy plant is rough bedstraw.  Its leaves grow radially at regular intervals along the branch, and in rough bedstraw each bunch has more or less six leaves in it - this plant has relatives which look very similar, but have fewer or more leaves per bunch.  It also has a relative called fragrant bedstraw which is quite similar but doesn't have a hairy/prickly texture.  This guy prickled the strap on my camera so I am pretty sure it's the rough variety.

you can kinda see the prickles

The tiny white four-petaled flowers are currently giving way to a multitude of small spherical burrs.

Growing in a large mat on the higher, west-side path at about 120th street in Morningside Park, Manhattan.

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