Galium pisiferum, Bedstraw,
Hebrew: דבקת האפונים, Arabic: لصيقه

Scientific name:		Galium pisiferum Boiss.
Common name:		Bedstraw
Hebrew name:		דבקת האפונים
Arabic name:		:لصيقه
Family:		Rubiaceae, פואתיים

Life form:		Therophyte, annual
Stems:		15-30 cm high; squarish stalks
Leaves:		Whorled, entire, smooth
Inflorescence:		Clusters
Flowers:		White
Fruits / pods:		Mericarp smooth, hairless, pale green with white striation
Flowering Period:		February, March, April
Habitat:		Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name: Galium from Greek word gala, "milk," and alluding to the fact that certain species were used to curdle milk. pisiferum, pisum, πισον, "the pea", and fero, "to bear, carry, bring"; pea bearing. The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician. Some say that Galium pisiferum Boiss. makes an excellent substitute for coffee. It has at least this signal advantage over many plants which have been offered as substitutes, that it belongs to the same natural order to which the true coffee belongs, Rubiaceae.