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Woodruff

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

                   iWoodruff
   Woodruff plant in flower
   Woodruff plant in flower
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Plantae
   Division: Magnoliophyta
   Class:    Magnoliopsida
   Order:    Gentianales
   Family:   Rubiaceae
   Genus:    Galium
   Species:  G. odoratum

                                Binomial name

   Galium odoratum
   (L.) Scop.
   Detail of flowers
   Enlarge
   Detail of flowers

   Woodruff (Galium odoratum) is a herbaceous perennial plant in the
   family Rubiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia and north Africa. It
   grows to 30-50 cm long, often lying flat on the ground or supported
   other plants. The plant is also known in English as Sweetscented
   bedstraw, Sweet Woodruff, Wild Baby's Breath, Cudweed (G. triflorum),
   Master of the woods (prob transliteration), and Ladies Bedstraw.

   The leaves are simple, lanceolate, glabrous, 2-5 cm long, and borne in
   whorls of 6-9. The small (4-7 mm diameter) flowers are produced in
   cymes, each white with four petals joined together at the base. The
   seeds are 2-4 mm diameter, produced singly, and each seed is covered in
   tiny hooked bristles which help disperse the seed by sticking
   temporarily to clothing and animal fur.

   This plant prefers partial to full shade in moist, rich soils. In dry
   summers it needs frequent irrigation. Propagation is by crown division,
   separation of the rooted stems, or digging up of the barely submerged
   perimeter stolons.

Uses

   Woodruff – from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der
   Schweiz 1885
   Enlarge
   Woodruff – from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der
   Schweiz 1885

   Woodruff, as the scientific name odoratum suggests, is a strongly
   scented plant, the sweet scent being derived from coumarin. This scent
   increases on wilting and then persists on drying, and woodruff is used
   in pot-pourri and as a moth deterrent. It is also used, mainly in
   Germany, to flavour wine ( Maiwein), beer ( Berliner Weisse), brandy,
   sausages and jam, and to make a herbal tea with gentle sedative
   properties.

   High doses can cause headaches, and very high doses (far beyond those
   found in the afore-mentioned drinks) can even have mind-altering
   properties, as well as vertigo, somnolence or even central paralysis
   and apnoea while in a coma; so, some common sense should be applied
   when consuming woodruff. Three grams of woodruff per litre of Maiwein
   is considered safe in Germany.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodruff"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
