Galium tinctorium L.

Very much like G. trifidum, of which it is often considered to be a var. or ssp., but said to be distinct in the field; differing as indicated in the key; pedicels consistently glabrous. Moist or swampy places, usually in circumneutral or somewhat alkaline soils; Nf. to Fla. and Hispaniola, w. to Minn., Mo., Tex., and Mex. Most plants of our range belong to the var. tinctorium, with the mericarps 2–3 mm and the pedicels rarely over 5 mm. The chiefly more southern var. floridanum Wiegand extends n. to the s. fringe of our range and along the coast to Mass.; it is more robust, with the mericarps 3–4 mm, and pedicels commonly 5–8 mm in fr.