Galium aparine

Cleavers are annuals with creeping straggling stems which branch and grow along the ground and over other plants. They attach themselves with the small hooked hairs which grow out of the stems and leaves. The stems can reach up to three feet or longer, and are angular or square shaped.[7] The leaves are simple, narrowly oblanceolate to linear, and borne in whorls of six to eight.[7][8][9]

Cleavers have tiny, star-shaped, white to greenish flowers, which emerge from early spring to summer. The flowers are clustered in groups of two or three, and are borne out of the leaf axils.[10] The corolla bears 4 petals.[11] The globular fruits are burrs which grow one to three seeds clustered together; they are covered with hooked hairs which cling to animal fur, aiding in seed dispersal.[10]

The species is native to a wide region of Europe, North Africa and Asia from Britain and the Canary Islands to Japan. It is now naturalized throughout most of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, some oceanic islands and scattered locations in Africa. Whether it is native to North America is a question of some debate, but it is considered to be native there in most literature.[12] It is considered a noxious weed in many places.[13][14]

For some people, skin contact with Galium aparine causes an unpleasant localized rash[15] known as contact dermatitis.

Chemical constituents of Galium aparine include: iridoid glycosides such as asperulosidic acid and 10-deacetylasperulosidic acid,[16] asperuloside, monotropein and aucubin, alkaloids such as caffeine, phenolics such as phenolic acids, anthraquinone derivatives such as the aldehyde nordamnacanthal (1,3-dihydroxy-anthraquinone-2-al),[17] flavonoids and coumarins, organic acids such as citric acid and a red dye.[18]

Galium aparine is edible. The leaves and stems of the plant can be cooked as a leaf vegetable if gathered before the fruits appear. However, the numerous small hooks which cover the plant and give it its clinging nature can make it less palatable if eaten raw.[19][20] Geese frequently consume G. aparine, hence one of its other common names, "goosegrass".[21] Cleavers are in the same family as coffee. The fruits of cleavers have often been dried and roasted, and then used as a coffee substitute which contains less caffeine.[7][22]

Poultices and washes made from cleavers were traditionally used to treat a variety of skin ailments, light wounds and burns.[23] As a pulp, it has been used to relieve poisonous bites and stings.[24] To make a poultice, the entire plant is used, and applied directly to the affected area.[25] Cleavers is also used as a lymphatic system aid, as it assists the lymph nodes in cleaning out toxins. Making a tea with the dried leaves is most common.[26] It can be brewed hot or cold. For a cold infusion, steep in water and refrigerate for 24–48 hours.

Dioscorides reported that ancient Greek shepherds would use the barbed stems of cleavers to make a "rough sieve", which could be used to strain milk. Carl Linnaeus later reported the same usage in Sweden, a tradition that is still practiced in modern times.[23][27]

In Europe, the dried, matted foliage of the plant was once used to stuff mattresses. Several of the bedstraws were used for this purpose because the clinging hairs cause the branches to stick together, which enables the mattress filling to maintain a uniform thickness.[20][28] The roots of cleavers can be used to make a permanent red dye.[29]

Children in the British isles have historically used cleavers as a form of entertainment. The tendency for the leaves and stems to adhere to clothing is used in various forms of play, such as mock camouflage and various pranks.

The plant can be found growing in hedges and waste places, limestone scree and as a garden weed.[30][31]

G. aparine prefers moist soils and can exist in areas with poor drainage. It reportedly flourishes in heavy soils with above-average nitrogen and phosphorus content, and prefers soils with a pH value between 5.5 and 8.0. G. aparine is often found in post-fire plant communities in the United States, likely developing from onsite seed and therefore rendering controlled burns as an ineffective means of removing G. aparine in areas where it is considered a noxious weed.[32]

Many insects feed on cleavers including aphids and spittlebugs.

The anthraquinone aldehyde nordamnacanthal (1,3-dihydroxy-anthraquinone-2-al) present in G. aparine has an antifeedant activity against Spodoptera litura, the Oriental leafworm moth, a species which is considered an agricultural pest.[17] The Acari Cecidophyes rouhollahi can be found on G. aparine.[33]

Galium is Dioscorides’ name for the plant. It is derived from the Greek word for ‘milk’, because the flowers of Galium verum were used to curdle milk in cheese making.[34]

Aparine is a name used by Theophrastus for goosegrass. It is derived from Greek and means ‘clinging’ or ‘seizing’.[34]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galium aparine.

• Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1
• Altervista Flora Italiana