Photographs: Inchigeela, Co. Cork

Hedge Bedstraw Galium album (Galium mollugo) Rú fáil Family: Rubiaceae Flowering time: June-September. Perennial. Probably introduced. Small white 4-petalled flowers in terminal clusters followed by smooth black fruit. Weak-stemmed, scrambling plant with a 4-angled smooth stem. There are 6-8 narrow leaves in each whorl with forward pointing prickles on the leaf edges. Plant hairless or slightly downy. Very variable, height: 30-100cm Occasional, mainly found in hedge-banks and grassland. Similar: Marsh-bedstraw, G. palustre. Native, common

Hedge Bedstraw, Galium album (Galium mollugo), Rú fáil