Leaves and stipules in whorls of 4–9.
Flowers small, mainly in axillary cymes, bisexual, usually 4-merous. Calyx usually absent. Corolla rotate with a very short tube, often hairy, white or yellow. Stamens 4, inserted in corolla tube alternating with the lobes; anthers versatile. Ovary 2-locular, each with 1 ovule; style 2-lobed, each with a capitate stigma.
Fruit dry, often shallowly rugose when dry, breaking into 2 one-seeded mericarps.
Galium migrans is a species from South Australia. All previous Galium migrans collections for NSW key to Galium leptogonium. The name Galium propinquum (New Zealand) was misapplied to Australian collections and is now included under Galium leiocarpum or Galium ciliare.
| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Leaves in whorls of 7 or more | 2 |
| Leaves mainly in whorls of 4,and sometimes up to 6 | 5 |
| 2 | Cymes usually of 10 flowers or more, corolla yellowish and somewhat purplish-red abaxially | Galium divaricatum |
| Cymes of usually of 6 or less flowers, corolla white or cream
Back to 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Annual to 20 cm high; primary peduncle 1–2 mm long, bracts barely developed at the primary node | Galium murale |
| Annual to 1 m high; primary peduncles 10 mm or more; bracts various ie. not developed, or 1 or more at the primary node
Back to 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Primary peduncle 10–70 mm long, bracts present at all nodes, usually in whorls of 2–6 at primary node; annual to 1 m high | Galium aparine |
| Primary peduncle 10–30 mm long, bracts not developed or one or occasionally 2 bracts at the primary node
Back to 3 | Galium tricornutum |
| 5 | Ovary glabrous | 6 |
| Ovary hairy
Back to 1 | 12 |
| 6 | Indumentum over whole plant sparcely covered with very coarse, plump hairs, often pigmented brown | Galium liratum |
| Indumentum over whole plant either glabrous or with scabrosites or/and fine hairs
Back to 5 | 7 |
| 7 | Leaves and stipules of similar length below the inflorescences or throughout the branches | 8 |
| Stipules usually 3/4 or less the length of the leaves throughout the branches
Back to 6 | 9 |
| 8 | Inflorescence shorter than the whorls, often growing in semi arid and arid areas, often associated with Triodia sp.; fruit smooth | Galium microlobum |
| Inforescence invariably exceeding the whorls; widespread habitat; fruit smooth but with "shoulders" appearing gelatinous
Back to 7 | Galium ciliare |
| 9 | Bracts generally a lot longer than peduncle; ovary 0.3–0.7 mm long | Galium gaudichaudii |
| Bracts shorter than peduncle; ovary 0.2–0.5 mm long
Back to 7 | 10 |
| 10 | Corolla snow-white throughout or tinged with pink; mericarps globose, slightly rugose | Galium palustre |
| Corolla greenish cream or cream; mericarps not globose, definitely reticulately rugose
Back to 9 | 11 |
| 11 | Plant sparcely indumented with scabrosites, or less often hairs; cymes 1–6-flowered | Galium binifolium |
| Plant densely indumented with slender hairs to 0.8 mm long; cymes 3–30-flowered
Back to 10 | Galium polyanthum |
| 12 | Fruits and ovaries with pustules or short antrorsely curved spinules | Galium leptogonium |
| Fruits and ovaries with other hair types or ovaries hairy and fruits smooth
Back to 5 | 13 |
| 13 | Plants with stout rootstock and multistemmed robust stems; growing at altitude of 600 metres or more; (from the Bungonia Caves area and surrounds on the Southern Tablelands) | Galium bungoniensis |
| Plants not robust; prostate, sprawling, and delicate; rhizomes present or not
Back to 12 | 14 |
| 14 | Stem angles broadened; so broad that they obliterate the faces of the stems; (restricted to the Cooleman Caves district in the Southern Tablelands) | Galium roddii |
| Stem angles only slightly broadened or slender so that the faces of the stems can be seen clearly and are not obliterated
Back to 13 | 15 |
| 15 | Ovary c. 0.8 mm long; no long hairs evident near the nodes | Galium spurium |
| Ovary less than 0.6 mm long, hairs of various types near nodes
Back to 14 | 16 |
| 16 | Plant with a dense indumentum of slender hairs to 0.8 mm long; no scabrosites present | Galium polyanthum |
| Plant either with a dense or sparce indumentum of coarse hairs or with scabrosites; if hairs are slender then hairs less than 0.6 mm long
Back to 15 | 17 |
| 17 | Indumentum sparcely hairly with hairs to 0.3 mm long or retrorse scabrosites; stipules similar in length to leaves | Galium leiocarpum |
| Indumentum dense with slender or coarse hairs to 0.5 mm long or scabrosites; stiples 2/3 of leaf length below inflorescence and deceasing upwards to 1/2 the length of the leaves, or stipules absent
Back to 16 | 18 |
| 18 | Inflorescences 1–7 flowered; pedicels 2.5–10 mm long; fruit densely covered in more or less transparent, hooked hairs | Galium australe |
| Inflorescences (1–)2–3 (–5) flowered; pedicels 0.5–1.5 mm long; fruit densely covered in short, usually whitish, curled hairs [G. curvihirtum usually occurs in Victoria - only known in NSW from one collection from the Northern Tablelands which is a probable introduction.]
Back to 17 | Galium curvihirtum |
