This is an upright, rather stiff little white-flowered plant with 3-veined blunt leaves arranged in whorls of four up the stem. The tiny 4mm flowers have 4 petals and are arranged in clusters at the branched tip. The plant grows to about 60cm high, flowering between June and August. The fruit is small and covered with hooked bristles. A perennial, Northern Bedstraw is not found on the east coast or Ireland but is locally abundant in parts of the west and north of the country. This flower belongs to the family Rubiaceae and is a native plant.
I first identified this flower growing beside a turlough in the Burren on a rainy day in June 2007 and I photographed it at that time,
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
