Hedge Bedstraw Plug Plants (Galium mollugo)

This scrambling wildflower thrives in hedgerows and woodlands, but it can also be spotted in open grasslands. Its tall white spikes, adorned with small star-shaped flowers, are particularly attractive to butterflies and moths. As a perennial plant, it serves as a food source for the larvae of several moth species.

Height: 30 – 100 cm
Light Requirements: Prefers full sun or shade and adapts to various soil types
Blooming Period: June to September

Galium mollugo (hedge bedstraw)

• Family: Rubiaceae (the coffee/madder family)
• Common name: hedge bedstraw, white bedstraw (syn. sometimes listed as Galium album)

Quick ID

• Habit: erect or sprawling perennial with wiry stems, typically 30–100 cm tall.
• Leaves: in whorls of about 6–8 (sometimes 5–9) narrow lanceolate leaves around the stem.
• Flowers: small, white, 4‑lobed, grouped in loose, flat-topped to open clusters (panicles). Bloom time typically late spring to summer (May–August in temperate zones).
• Fruit: small dry fruits (paired schizocarps); fruits of G. mollugo are not strongly hooked (unlike cleavers).
• Stem/texture: stems usually smooth or sparsely hairy (not strongly sticky).

Where it grows

• Habitat: hedgerows, grassy margins, meadows, banks and open woodland edges; often prefers well‑drained or calcareous soils.
• Distribution: native to much of Europe and parts of western Asia; naturalized in parts of North America.

Ecology and wildlife value

• Flowers provide nectar and pollen for a range of insects, including small bees and flies.
• Named “bedstraw” because various Galium species were historically used for stuffing mattresses and bedding.

How to distinguish from similar bedstraws

• Galium aparine (cleavers): sprawling and clinging, stems/leaves sticky with hooked hairs; fruits strongly hooked. Hedge bedstraw is more erect and not sticky.
• Galium verum (lady’s bedstraw): has yellow flowers and often a sweet scent when dried.
• Galium palustre (marsh bedstraw): prefers wet habitats and has smaller flowers/leaf whorls.

Uses and cautions

• Historical/folk uses: some Galium species were used for bedding, cheesemaking (Galium verum), or drying for scent. Hedge bedstraw is not commonly used for food or medicine today.
• Caution: don’t assume edible/medicinal properties—many bedstraws contain compounds (e.g., iridoids, coumarins in some species) and identification to species is important before any use.

Seeds per gram: 1500