Asperula polymera
I.Thomps.Decumbent to erect perennial; stems slender, to 50 cm long, with moderately dense retrorse to straight hairs. Leaves and stipules subsessile or shortly petiolate, c. equal, in whorls of 6–8, narrow to very narrow-elliptic, oblanceolate to narrow-oblanceolate or spathulate, (3–)6–20 mm long, 1.5–5 mm wide, mostly acute, occasionally subacute to obtuse, with scattered antrorse hairs, margins flat, recurved or narrowly revolute. Inflorescences terminal cymes, mostly 1–6-flowered, slightly shorter to longer than leaves. Corolla c. 3–4.5 mm long on male flowers, c. 1–2 mm long on females, white; corolla-tube as long as or longer than lobes. Fruit deeply 2-lobed; mericarps reniform, 2–3 mm long, rugose, black or dark brown. Flowers summer.
EGU, HSF, HNF, MonT, HFE, VAlp. Widespread throughout the mountains of south-central and eastern Victoria including the Yarra Ranges, Lake Mountain, Baw Baw Plateau, Mt Buffalo and the Bogong High Plains.
Around 80% of the collections of this species are male which is in contrast to other Asperula species in Victoria where female appears to be the more commonly occurring sex (Thompson 2009).
SpinningThompson, I.R. (2009). A revision of Asperula and Galium (Rubieae: Rubiaceae) in Australia. Muelleria 27(1): 36–116.
