Galium litorale is a rare species of bedstraw in the Rubiaceae family. It is endemic to the island of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. In Italian it is known as caglio costiero. Taxonomy This species was first described in 1827 by Giovanni Gussone in the first part of his Florae Siculae Prodromus. Description Galium litorale is a perennial herb, from 20 to 60 cm in height. G. litorale characteristically has a stoloniferous habitus. It is considered a hemicryptophyte or chamaephyte (a subshrub). The upper stems are pubescent, with short internodes. The leaves are narrowly oblanceolate in shape, 2-5 x 10-18 mm, abruptly pointed and somewhat rough in texture at their edges. The inflorescence is erect and consists of a large, elongated panicle of many small white flowers. It has short, lateral branches. The peduncles are 1.5-3 mm, divaricating after each flower. The flowers have a white, pubescent corolla with a diameter of 3-4 mm and with apiculate lobes. The fruit has a diameter of 2-3 mm, and is dark or blackish coloured when ripe. It appears to be most closely related to Galium species from North Africa, in particular G. poirelianum. Distribution It is endemic to western Sicily, a large island belonging to Italy. Here it can be found between Marsala and Mazara del Vallo, near the coast in the far southwest of the island, at the closest point of the island to Tunisia in Africa. The total area of occupancy consisted of some 500 km² of habitat. Ecology It grows in the habitat coded as '5330' in the system used by the European Commission, which stands for "thermo-Mediterranean and pre-desert scrub". The preferred habitats have also been described as macchia, garrigue and grasslands. It grows in beach sands. It grows from sea level to 100 metres. It appears to have a special relationship with the small and spiny palm species Chamaerops humilis, very often growing in the shelter of the spines, in an area of coastal garrigue where the palm is particularly common. It blooms from June or July to September. Conservation In 1992 Galium litorale was designated as a 'priority species' under Annex II of the Habitats Directive of the European Community (which was reformed as the European Union the following year). This designation was meant to serve as the basis for Italy to declare which areas in which it occurs are 'Special Areas of Conservation' -which were