Photographs: Ballingeary, Co. Cork

Marsh-bedstraw Galium palustre Rú corraigh Family: Rubiaceae Flowering time: June-August. Perennial. Native. Small 4-petalled white flowers in wide panicles followed by smooth, black fruit. 4,5 or 6 leaves in each whorl with backward-pointing prickles on leaf edges. Stems trailing or erect, hairless. Leaves turn black when drying. Height to 80cm. Very common in marshes, ponds, ditches, damp lawns and waste ground. Similar: Fen Bedstraw, G. uliginosum. Leaves with mucronate tips. Occasional in calcareous bogs and fens.

Marsh-bedstraw, Galium palustre, Rú corraigh