Galium Nuttallii, San Diego Bedstraw

Galium nuttallii is a species of far southwestern California, along the coast between San Diego and Gaviota, across the inland mountains, and on the Channel Islands; plants in this latter location are ssp insulare, all parts glabrous, while mainland plants are ssp nuttallii, for which the stems have a sparse covering of tiny, sharp, curved hairs, angled downwards, and the leaves are lined by a few well-separated bristles.

Plants are dioecious; pistillate flowers, with a two-lobed ovary, are solitary, one per leaf node, while staminate flowers, centered on four stamens, are in small clusters. The four petals are creamy-white to pinkish red. Fruits are hairless berries.