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1. 'Leaves' in whorls of 2 at least on the upper branches |
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2. Stems quadrangular; 'leaves' glabrous or with recurved teeth along the margin |
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Asperula gemella |
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2. Stems terete or vaguely angular; 'leaves' serrate-ciliate or with stout hairs pointing towards the apex |
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Galium divaricatum |
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1. 'Leaves' in whorls of 4-13 |
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3. 'Leaves' predominantly in whorls of 4 |
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4. 'Leaves' and stems with long spreading hairs |
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5. 'Leaves' ovate, rarely lanceolate but then much branched plants with branches not longer than 12 cm |
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Galium compactum |
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5. 'Leaves' obovate to linear-lanceolate or if lanceolate then the little branched stems 20 cm or more |
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6. 'Leaves' linear to linear-lanceolate, with the upper surface smooth |
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Galium gaudichaudii |
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6. 'Leaves' obovate, elliptic or lanceolate, with the upper surface colliculate to granulate |
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Galium migrans |
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4. 'Leaves' and stems glabrous, with bent or recurved hairs |
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7. Leaf sheath usually glabrous |
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8. 'Leaves' membranous or almost so, with a colliculate to granulate upper surface |
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Galium propinquum |
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8. 'Leaves' somewhat fleshy and with distinctly recurved margins, with upper surface smooth |
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9. 'Leaves' with scattered straight hairs and serrate-ciliate margins |
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Galium murale |
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9. 'Leaves' glabrous or rarely with recurred teeth along the margins |
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10. 'Leaves' 10-35 mm long at least on the lower branches; robust plants with wiry branches |
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Asperula gemella |
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10. 'Leaves' 3-10 mm long; soft herbaceous plant |
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Asperula subsimplex |
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7. Leaf sheath with erect hairs, rarely with pointed papillae |
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11. 'Leaves' broadly elliptic, rarely ovate; hairs on stems almost tuberculate and scarcely recurved |
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Galium propinquum |
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11. 'Leaves' obovate to narrowly elliptic (c. 2-3 mm) or lanceolate or if ovate then with spreading hairs on the stems |
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12. 'Leaves' ovate, with hairs on the margin and along the main vein on the undersurface |
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Asperula euryphylla var. tetraphylla |
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12. 'Leaves' obovate or elliptic to lanceolate or if ovate then the undersurface more or less covered with spreading hairs |
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13. Hairs on the stems changing from long and spreading at the base to bent or recurved and minute, rarely glabrous on upper branches |
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14. Branches soft-herbaceous or becoming rigid towards the base; slender branched inflorescence longer than the leaves usually retained for more than a year |
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Galium migrans |
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14. Branches delicate but usually rigid; inflorescence shorter than the leaves |
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Galium gaudichaudii |
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13. Hairs on the stems more or less uniformly short and recurved |
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15. 'Leaves' of the same whorl unequally long on the lower branches |
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Galium binifolium |
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15. 'Leaves' of the same whorl more or less equally long |
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16. Plants tufted; leaves rarely broader than 1.5 mm |
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Galium gaudichaudii |
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16. Plants with soft straggling to prostrate branches; leaves usually 2-3 mm broad |
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17. Branches occasionally rooting at the nodes; fruit with brown hooked hairs |
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Galium australe |
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17. Branches not rooting at the nodes; fruit with white recurved hairs |
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Galium curvihirtum |
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3. 'Leaves' in whorls of 5-13 |
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18. Margin of the leaves with hairs pointing towards the apex or serrate-ciliate, rarely glabrous |
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20. Stems quadrangular and ridged, softly herbaceous |
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Galium murale |
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20. Stems vaguely angular to terete, stiff or wiry |
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Galium divaricatum |
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19. Leaf sheath papillose to hairy |
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21. 'Leaves' c. I mm, rarely up to 1.5 mm broad, fleshy |
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Asperula conferta |
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21. 'Leaves' 1.5-4 mm broad, membranous |
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22. 'Leaves' gradually tapering into a terminal point, drying pale-green |
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Sherardia arvensis |
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22. 'Leaves' abruptly tapering into a terminal point, drying dark to almost black |
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Asperula gunnii |
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18. Margin of 'leaves' with recurved or straight erect hairs |
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23. Stems stiffly erect, somewhat woody, with long straight hairs |
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Asperula syrticola |
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23. Stems herbaceous, prostrate to decumbent or straggling, with short recurved hairs |
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24. Leaf sheath and around the nodes with long fine hairs |
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Galium aparine |
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24. Leaf sheath glabrous or with few papillae |
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25. 'Leaves' 7-16 mm long, with hooked bristles on the margins |
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Galium spurium subsp. ibicinum |
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25. 'Leaves' 10-50 mm long, with recurveal hairs on themargins |
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Galium tricornutum |