Northern Bed Straw
Galium boreale
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Spread
- 1–1.5 feet
- Light
- Part shade
- Soil moisture
- Average to moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to July
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 3 West Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 101 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Galium
- Apantesis phylliraPhyllira Tiger Moth
- Apantesis virgoVirgin Tiger Moth
- Costaconvexa centrostrigariaBent-Lined Carpet
- Epirrhoe alternataWhite-Banded Toothed Carpet, Striped Carpet
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Lobocleta ossulariaDrab Brown Wave
- Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
- Stenoporpia polygrammariaFaded Grey
Show all 11
- Xanthorhoe ferrugataRed Twin-Spot, Twin-Spot Carpet
3BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Galium
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
8BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Galium
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Coturnicops noveboracensisYellow Rail
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Flower color
- White
What its natural habitat tells you
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to July” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Flower color · “White” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Hardiness · “Zones 4–8” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Height · “1–2 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Part shade” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “moderately wet to medium” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Spread · “1–1.5 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Also known as
Northern Bedstraw
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Spreads aggressively. Spreads aggressively by creeping roots and self-seeding. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications