Photographs: Co. Cork

Sweet Woodruff Galium odoratum Lus moileas Family: Rubiaceae Flowering time: May-June. Perennial. Native. Loose heads of small white flowers with 4 petals. The leaves are in whorls of 6-9, pointed, narrow and single-veined with a short tip. An erect, hairless, carpeting plant with 4-angled stems that can spread widely by many underground runners. Sweetly aromatic when bruised. To 30cm Found on calcareous, damp, shady soils, usually in woodland. Scattered distribution but most frequent in northern half of Ireland. Similar: Wild Madder, Rubia peregrina. Scrambling plant, prickly leaves

Sweet Woodruff, Galium odoratum, Lus moileas