Flowering plants. Australian Plant Image Index, Photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, ACT

Flowering plant. Photographer Don Wood, south coast, NSW

Common Name

Common Woodruff

Family

Rubiaceae

Notes

Perennial forb, becoming woody at the base, to 20cm tall or sprawling.  Leaves in whorls of 5-6, 0.2-1.2cm long, linear, hairless except for the mid-vein, the margins rough, and the leaves usually with a rigid short point.  Male and female flowers on separate plants.  Flowers small (less than 3mm across), creamy white, funnel-shaped with four lobes, in 1-3 flowered clusters at the bases of the upper leaves or at the ends of the stems.

Description and photo of flowering plant in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 619

PlantNET description:   http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Asperula~conferta