GALIUM HELDREICHII
Including:- Galium peloponnesiacum
Family and Genus:- See- RUBIACEAE/Sect. LEIOGALIUM/Series ERECTA/G.
Common Names:- None
Homotypic Synonyms:- None
Meaning:- Galium (Gr) Milk.
Heldreichii (L) After Theodor Heinrich Hermann von Heldreich (1822-
1902). Director of the Athens Botanical Garden.
General description:- Perennial with woody base, stolons absent.
Stems:-
1) Up to 80 cm tall and 3-5 mm in diam. at the base, strongly branched, erect-
ascending. glabrous or often hairy usually reddish at the base.
Leaves:-
1) 10-20(-30) x 1-5 mm, oblong to oblanceolate, somewhat coriaceous. sometimes
reddish.
2) Midrib, rather prominent.
Flower:-
1) Inflorescence, dense, narrowly ovoid.
a) primary branches, long.
2) Pedicels, up to as long as the diameter of the corolla.
3) Corolla, 2-3(-3·5) mm. diam, whitish to greenish or sometimes reddish.
4) Anthers, dark brown to purplish.
Fruit:-
1) Brown ovoid. mostly dry and glabrous.
Key features:-
1) Stolons, absent.
2) Corolla, 2-3 mm diam.
3) Anthers, dark brown to purplish.
Habitat:- Rocky slopes with dry open shrubby vegetation and open woodland, on
various substrates. 0-1000 m. (- 2000 m. in dolines).
Distribution:- Endemic Crete, Greece, Aegean & W. Turkey
Flowering time:- Apr-July, depending on altitude.
Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis
SPECIES DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GALIUM PELOPONNESIACUM Back to Top
Homotypic Synonyms:- None
Meaning:- Peloponnesiacum (L) From the Peloponnese
Resembling Galium heldreichii, but differering in the following characters:-
1) Leaves, relatively thin, with a slender midrib beneath.
2) Corolla, (2-)3-4 mm diam, white or sometimes greenish-yellow.
Habitat:- Dry, rocky slopes, open coniferous woodland and scrub of Quercus
coccifera, 0-1200(-1900) m.
Distribution:- Endemic, mainly in Peloponnisos, a few records also from Crete and
KefaIlinia.
Flowering time:- May-July.
