Galega officinalis L., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Galega bicolor Boiss. & Hausskn. ex Regel; Galega patula Steven

Common name(s): [more details]

English: French lilac, galega, goat's-rue, Italian fitch, professor-weed

French: galega officinal, lilas d'Espagne

Spanish: galega

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stems rounded, ribbed, ± glabrous. Leaves sparsely hairy; stipules ovate-lanceolate with 1-3 basal lobes; leaflets subsessile, elliptic-ovate to oblong, obtuse or acute, mucronate, in 4-9 ± opposite pairs, (15)-20-50 mm long, pinnately veined. Inflorescence axillary, = or > leaves, with numerous flowers; bracts subtending pedicels lanceolate, c. 5-7 mm long; pedicels 3-6 mm long. Calyx glabrous, or with scattered, short hairs at base of tube and teeth, slightly gibbous at base; calyx teeth ± = or slightly < tube, linear. Corolla white to pale purplish or pinkish blue or deep pink, 10-13 mm long. Pod glabrous, ± cylindric, with thickened parallel veins, 2-8-seeded, 15-40 mm long; seeds smooth, oblong, constricted slightly at the short hilum"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 648).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand, "waste places, riverbeds, swampland"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 648).  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions:  Low altitude, interior valleys; coastal mountains, 500-2000 m; coastal areas, 0-500 m. Somewhat dry areas where the drought may last 3-5 months, precipitations of 400-800 mm. are concentrated in winter. Fully exposed to the sun, level areas or slopes facing north"  (Chileflora).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe, Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey; naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 484, 530, 554) Voucher cited: Danton I(5/233)1580. "Presente en el Continente, no vimos más que sólo individuos en el pueblo de San Juan Bautista en RC y un único en AS, en el pueblito de La Colonia. Si esta especie se mulitplica, podria volverse terriblemente invasora, al igual que en el continente".
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 484, 530, 554) Voucher cited: Danton G(1426)1191. "Presente en el Continente, no vimos más que sólo individuos en el pueblo de San Juan Bautista en RC y un único en AS, en el pueblito de La Colonia. Si esta especie se mulitplica, podria volverse terriblemente invasora, al igual que en el continente".

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011) Ontario
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Belov, Michail (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 648)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Photos and other information from Chileflora.
Fact sheet from King County, Washington, USA
Fact sheet from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Additional online information about Galega officinalis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Galega officinalis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Galega officinalis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.