Boreale: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this species.

	stem stiff, erect; NOT [stem weak, matted or ascending]
	principal stem leaves in whorls of 4; NOT [principal stem leaves in whorls of 6 or 8]
	leaves 3-nerved; NOT [leaves 1-nerved]
	ovary bristly or hairy; NOT [ovary glabrous]
	fruit bristly or hairy; NOT [fruit glabrous]

Galium: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus. 

	stems square
	leaves whorled; NOT [leaves opposite]
	inflorescence of open cymes; NOT [inflorescence a head, subtended by bracts]
	corolla rotate; NOT [corolla slender-funnelform]

Rubiaceae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora  leading to this family. 

	herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]
	plants green or with some chlorophyll; NOT [plants parasitic or saprophytic, with chlorophyll]
	plants without milky juice; NOT [plants often with milky juice]
	not climbing plants; NOT [climbing plants with tendrils]
	leaves opposite; NOT [leaves basal or alternate]
	leaves with stipules, appearing whorled; NOT [leaves without stipules]
	flowers NOT in heads or spikes; NOT [flowers in long or short spikes], NOT [flowers in heads or in form resembling a head]