Galium matthewsii

{{Short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|name = Bushy bedstraw

|genus = Galium

|species = matthewsii

|authority = Gray

|}}

Galium matthewsii is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common names bushy bedstraw and Matthews' bedstraw. It is native to the mountains and deserts of southeastern California (Kern, Inyo and San Bernardino Cos), and southern Nevada (Clark and Esmeralda Cos).[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=86782 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families][http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Galium%20matthewsii.png Biota of North America Program]

Galium matthewsii is a shrubby perennial growing from a woody base and reaching heights of about 20 to 30 centimeters. It forms short, thin, tangled masses. The small, sharp-pointed leaves grow in whorls of four about the stem at intervals. The plant is dioecious, but male and female flowers are similar in appearance and grow in clustered inflorescences of hairy yellow corollas. The fruit is a nutlet covered with very long, straight, white hairs.[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8864380#page/92/mode/1up Gray, Asa. 1883. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 19: 80]Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley.Cronquist, A.J., A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren, J. L. Reveal & P. K. Holmgren. 1984. Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. 4: 1–573. In A.J. Cronquist, A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren, J. L. Reveal & P. K. Holmgren (eds.) Intermountain Flora. Hafner Pub. Co., New York.

The plant was named for Washington Matthews.{{cite web |url=https://www.cpp.edu/~larryblakely/whoname/who_matt.htm |title=Who's In a Name: Loeseliastrum matthewsii |accessdate=2019-04-20}}