Galium stellatum subsp. eremicum

PLANTS: Spreading shrub to 90 cm high, the old stems brittle (to 2 cm in diameter), with whitish peeling bark; flower-bearing stems slender, not usually persistent. LEAVES: 4-17 mm long, lanceolate to needle-shaped, light green, rigid, narrowed gradually to sharp apex. COROLLAS: white, yellowish or greenish, the apices blunt or a little elongated. 2n = 22, 44. NOTES: See also the parent taxon for further description. Rocky desert slopes; rock crevices in canyons; sandy washes and talus slopes; Sonoran desert scrub; pinyon-juniper: Coconino, Gila, Graham, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, Yuma cos.; 300-1200 m (1000- 4000 ft); Feb-Jun; CA, NM, NV; Baja C., Son., Mex. Var. eremicum differs from var. stellatumofCedros Island in habit and in chromosome number. The Cedros Island plant is octoploid (2n = 88), and is a low, densely-growing, semiprostrate suffrutescent. REFERENCES: Dempster, Lauramay T. 1995. Rubiaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Sci. 29(l): 29.