GALIUM TRICORNUTUM

Family and Genus:- See- RUBIACEAE

Common Names:- Corn Cleavers.

Homotypic synonyms:- None verified..

Meaning:- Galium (Gr) Gala, milk, referring to the traditional use of certain species to curdle milk.
                   Tricornutum (L) Three-horned, referring to the characteristic recurved, often three-flowered fruiting clusters.

General description:- A weak, scrambling annual with rough stems, narrow whorled leaves and inconspicuous white flowers in small axillary clusters.

Stems:-
1) Shoots, prostrate to ascending, commonly 10-50 cm long.
2) Surface, four-angled, with backward-directed prickles on the angles.

Leaves:-
1) Cauline, sessile, in apparent whorls of usually 6-8.
    a) blade, linear-lanceolate, commonly 1-3 cm long.
    b) apex, ending in a conspicuous bristle-like point.
    c) surface, margins bearing backward-directed prickles.
    d) venation, one main longitudinal vein.
2) Stipules, leaf-like, contributing to the apparent whorls.

Flowers:-
1) Inflorescence, axillary cymes, usually 1-3-flowered and shorter than the
    subtending leaves.
2) Bracts, leaf-like below, smaller towards the ends of the flowering branches.
3) Calyx, free limb absent or inconspicuous.
4) Corolla, white or greenish-white, about 1-1.5 mm across;
    a) tube, very short, much shorter than the lobes.
    b) lobes, 4, spreading and pointed.
5) Stamens, 4, alternating with the corolla lobes;
    a) filaments, short, attached to the corolla.
    b) anthers, 2-celled.
6) Ovary, inferior, 2-celled, with one ovule in each cell;
    a) style, divided into 2 branches, each ending in a capitate stigma.

Fruit:-
1) Schizocarp, dry, separating into 2 one-seeded mericarps.
2) Mericarps, about 3-4 mm long, covered in pointed papillae or tubercles, without
    the hooked bristles of Galium aparine.
3) Fruiting pedicels, strongly curved downwards.

Distinguishing features:- Strongly recurved fruiting pedicels and large papillose fruits distinguish it from Galium aparine, which has hooked-bristly fruits and generally straighter fruiting pedicels. Mature fruit provides the clearest identification.

Flowering time:- June to August.

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Toxicity:- Species-specific toxicity information is insufficient to establish the safety of ingestion or medicinal preparations.

Habitat:- Cultivated arable ground, especially on calcareous soils; dependent on suitable disturbance and low-intensity weed control.

Distribution:- An archaeophyte in Great Britain, formerly scattered in arable districts but now extremely restricted. The 2025 assessment records the surviving long-established population at Broadbalk, Rothamsted; other recent occurrences include deliberate introductions. More widely distributed in Europe and western Asia.

Conservation status:- Critically Endangered (CR) in Great Britain (2025); Nationally Rare.

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