Galium spurium
Ecology
An annual, formerly occurring as an arable weed on autumn-cultivated land, particularly in cereal and potato crops, but in recent years known only from a few allotments and nearby roadside verges. It may occasionally arise from a residual seed bank during roadworks. It flowers in autumn. Lowland.
Status
Trends
This species was first recorded in the wild in 1806 and has been known from around Saffron Walden (N. Essex) since 1844, although it is now much rarer than it was when first discovered. It has only been recorded as a casual elsewhere.
World Distribution
Circumpolar Temperate element, with a continental distribution in W. Europe; the limits of its native range have been obscured by its spread in cultivation.
There are no images in this gallery.
Broad Habitats
Light (Ellenberg): 7
Moisture (Ellenberg): 5
Reaction (Ellenberg): 8
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 5
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 3.9
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 16.1
Annual Precipitation (mm): 755
Height (cm): 100
Perennation - primary
Life Form - primary
Woodiness
Clonality - primary
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 55
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 0
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 0
Atlas Change Index: -1.87
JNCC Designations
Atlas text references
Atlas (263a)
.
1986. Atlas of north European vascular plants north of the Tropic of Cancer. 3 vols.
.
1974. Flora of Essex.
.
1988. The biology of Canadian weeds. 86. Galium aparine L. and Galium spurium L. Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 68:481-499.