Galium tinctorium aka Stiff Marsh Bedstraw

Galium tinctorium is also known as threepetal bedstraw. This North American plant belongs to the Rubiaceae family. Records place it in parts of eastern Canada and the United States. In Canada, these include Nova Scotia and Ontario. They also include Newfoundland and Labrador. US records reach from New England south to Georgia. They include Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas as well. Plants For A Future lists swamps and moist sites in Texas as habitat. The RHS says it is not native to Britain or Ireland.

This plant is a perennial: it lives for more than two years. Plants For A Future calls its flowers hermaphrodite. Each flower thus has both male and female organs. The supplied species records give no full-grown height or spread. They give no details for this species' leaves or stems. Nor do they give details of its flowers or fruit. The RHS describes the wider genus, not this species. Those shared traits do not show its exact form. The supplied sources give no season for its blooms.

Plants For A Future says the plant prefers moist soil. It lists sun or part shade as suitable light. Its soil list includes sand, loam, and clay. The pH range runs from mildly acid to mildly alkaline. Yet the source bases its growing notes on the genus as a whole. Use care with these points when you plan to plant it. The source does not confirm how well it withstands cold in Britain. Based on its native range, it suggests milder areas may suit it.

Plants For A Future says the roots yield a red dye. It also notes past use of the whole plant as medicine. People made an infusion, a steeped drink, for breathing complaints. This records a use; it does not prove a benefit. The source gives its use as medicine a low rating. It rates other uses low as well. It lists no known uses as food and gives an edibility score of zero. That score does not prove the plant is poisonous.

Plants For A Future reports no known hazards. It also flags no risk of the plant becoming a weed. Neither claim means a full safety check has taken place. The supplied records name no pests or diseases. They give no evidence of this species' value for pollinators. Nor do they show its value in the landscape.