Perennial; stems ±erect, 1.5-5 dm, retrorsely hispid at the nodes, otherwise glabrous or nearly so; lvs vanilla-scented, mostly in whorls of (6)8(10), oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic, cuspidate, 1.5-5 cm נ4-12 mm, antrorsely scabro-ciliate on the margins and sometimes on the midrib beneath, otherwise glabrous or nearly so; infl terminal, branched, nearly naked; cor white, funnelform, 3-5 mm long and 4-7 mm wide, the lobes somewhat longer than the tube; fr 3 mm, covered with hooked bristles; 2n=22. Woods, native of Europe, sparingly intr. in our range. May, June. (Asperula o.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.