Galium L.
Fls small, perfect, or plants polygamous or dioec. Infl. cymose or reduced to a solitary fl. Calyx a minute ring, teeth obsolete; corolla rotate. tube very short. lobes (3)-4-(5). valvate; stamens 4. exserted; styles 2, connate near base, stigmas capitate. Ovary 2-celled, ovules 1 per cell, disk nectariferous. Fr. mostly dry, of paired 1-seeded cocci, testa adherent to pericarp. Annual to perennial slender herbs with 4-angled stems and lvs and lflike stipules forming whorls of 4-12. Sub-cosmopolitan genus with over 300 spp. The N.Z. spp. endemic Flowering and fruiting season ±11-6.