Common names: Clivers, Goosegrass, Yellow Bedstraw, Maid’s Hair, Cheese Rennet, Hedge Bedstraw and Lady’s Bedstraw.
Yellow Bedstraw is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae, native to Europe and Asia. It is a low scrambling plant, with the stems growing to 60-120 cm long, frequently rooting where they touch the ground. The leaves are 1-3 cm long and 2 mm broad, shiny dark green, hairy underneath, borne in whorls of 8-12. Its small, bright yellow flowers are are 2-3 mm in diameter closely clustered together in dense panicles at the tops of the wiry, square, upright stems, which are 1 to 3 feet high, and bear numerous very narrow, almost thread-like leaves, placed six to eight together in whorls. This plant exudes a strong honey-like odour and is best gathered in July.
