Galium odoratum, the sweet woodruff[1] or sweetscented bedstraw,[3] is a flowering perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to much of Europe.

The fruits are 2–4 mm diameter, produced singly, and each is covered in tiny hooked bristles which help disperse them by sticking temporarily to clothing and animal fur.

[citation needed] The plant is native to much of Europe[4] from Spain and Ireland to Russia, as well as Western Siberia, Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus,[2] China and Japan.

[citation needed] Industrial usage of the plant for sweets was prohibited in Germany in 1974, due to coumarin, the flavorant found in woodruff, being toxic to rats and mice in studies.

It was, and partially is, used to flavour May wine (called Maibowle or Maitrank in German), sweet juice punch, syrup for beer (Berliner Weisse), brandy, jelly, jam, a soft drink (Tarhun, which is Georgian), ice cream, and herbal tea.