Galium aparine
Ecology
A scrambling annual of cultivated land, hedges, river banks, waysides, soil heaps and waste places, also growing in more natural habitats such as scree slopes and shingle. It inhabits both tall-herb and ruderal communities, thriving on highly fertile soil. Seed is dispersed by mammals. 0-440 m (Clun Forest, Salop).
Status
Trends
The overall distribution of G. aparine is stable. It is a highly successful and abundant weed, especially in arable crops, and is probably increasing in abundance despite the use of species-specific agricultural herbicides.
World Distribution
European Temperate element, but widely naturalised so distribution is now Circumpolar Temperate.
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Broad Habitats
Light (Ellenberg): 6
Moisture (Ellenberg): 6
Reaction (Ellenberg): 7
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 8
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 3.6
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 14.6
Annual Precipitation (mm): 1080
Height (cm): 150
Perennation - primary
Life Form - primary
Woodiness
Clonality - primary
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 2672
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 960
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 14
Atlas Change Index: -0.09
Weighted Changed Factor: -16
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
JNCC Designations
Atlas text references
Atlas (262d)
.
1988. Comparative Plant Ecology.
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1986. Atlas of north European vascular plants north of the Tropic of Cancer. 3 vols.
.
1988. The biology of Canadian weeds. 86. Galium aparine L. and Galium spurium L. Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 68:481-499.
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1992. Vergleichende Chorologie der zentraleuropäischen Flora. Volume 3. 2 vols.
Taylor (1999a)