Flora Europaea. Volume 4. Plantaginaceae to Compositae (and Rubiaceae) Author Tutin, T. G. Author Heywood, V. H. Author Burges, N. A. Author Moore, D. M. Author Valentine, D. H. Author Walters, S. M. Author Webb, D. A. text 1976 Cambridge University Press book 10.5281/zenodo.293764 293764 132. G. aparine L. , Sp. Pl. 108 (1753) . Like 131 but stems (20-)80-180 cm, often stout and more hairy at the nodes; leaves 30-60 x 3-8 mm, in whorls of 6-9, narrowly to widely oblanceolate, abruptly contracted towards the apex; corolla 1 -5-1-7 mm in diameter, whitish; fruit 3-5 mm, with dense, hooked setae. 2« = 42, 44, 48, 62, 66, 68. Woods, scrub, hedges and cultivated ground. Europe, except N.E. Russia and parts of the Arctic. All except Fa Is Sb, where it has been recorded as a casual. A very variable cosmopolitan weed.