Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Asperula scoparia
Common name
Prickly woodruff
Family
Rubiaceae
Where found
Forest, grassy areas, disturbed sites, rocky areas, and moist sites.
subsp. subglabra: Few records. Ranges and Southern Highlands between Wollemi National Park and east of Moss Vale.
subsp. scoparia: Widespread. Rarely coastal.
Notes
Perennial herb to 0.3 m high or sprawling. Rhizomatous, sometimes loosely mat-forming. Stems angular. 'Leaves' in whorls of 6, 0.3–1.2 cm long, 0.3–2.0 mm wide, surfaces sparsely rough, midrib prominent, margins flat, curved down or less often rolled down, tips narrowly pointed with a straight translucent mucro. Male and female flowers on separate plants. Flowers white, tubular, with 4 lobes. Flowers 2–6 mm long. Flowers single or in few- to several-flowered clusters. Flowering: spring to summer.
subsp. subglabra: Leaves of flowering branches usually more than 1 mm wide, long drawn out into a translucent tip. Stem-angles hairless, often covered with few to many tiny warts
subsp. scoparia: Leaves of flowering branches up to 1 mm wide, sharp-tipped, not long drawn out into a translucent tip. Stem-angles usually densely hairy.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
PlantNET description of species and key to subspecies: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Asperula~scoparia (accessed 28 April 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
