Lady’s bedstraw
Lady’s bedstraw (scientific name Galium verum) is a very graceful plant, which sways in the wind with its golden yellow flowering stems. 30-90 cm tall, belongs to the Rubiaceae family.
The leaves are arranged in a star shape, both on the stems and on the side branches. The yellow flowers are arranged in dense and long panicles ; their pollination takes place mainly through flies and beetles .
Throughout Europe yellow flowers were used in the past to curdle milk to produce cheese (hence the name “Galium”, from the Greek gála = milk).
Lady’s bedstraw grows in arid meadows, on the edge of the woods, in stony places up to 1700 m above sea level.
This plant has coloring properties: with the root it can be dyed red and with the flowers yellow-orange.
Did you know?
According to a medieval legend, the Madonna lay in Bethlehem on a bed of Galium verum, because the donkeys had eaten any other fodder present in the stable.
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