Cleavers - Identification, Description, and Uses!

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This video is about cleavers - Galium aparine

Cleavers has a lot of other names including bedstraw, goosegrass, tangleweed, sticky willy, barweed, gripgrass, scratweed, robin-run-in-the-grass

Cleavers Description and Distribution

Cleavers is an annual plant that is probably introduced from Europe but may be native to North America. It grows 20 cm to 100 cm tall. It can be found in woods, moist fields, clearings, waste sites, shores, along roadsides, and along hedges and throughout North America.

Identification of Cleavers

Cleavers has a square stem with hooked hairs on the angles of the stems. The leaves are in whotls of 6 to 8 and are 1/2 " to 3 " long. They are straight and narrow and are widest above the middle with clinging hairs along the margins. The ends of the leaves are rounded with a sharp point. Flowers are tiny and whitish to greenish and emerge from the axils. The stems of cleavers are weak, so they grow along the ground if they don't have something else to hold on to. The seeds grow in paired and are covered in sticky hairs.

Cleavers Are Edible

Very young cleavers plants can be eaten raw, but they can also be irritating and might be better cooked to avoid irritating the throat. Galium species are related to coffee, so the seeds can be dried and roasted and used as a coffee substitute which is caffeine free. The young leaves can be cooked and eaten like spinach and also taste like spinach.

Medicinal Uses for Cleavers

Cleavers are rich in vitamin C and have been used as a treatment for scurvy. Cleavers have diuretic properties and have been used as a treatment for kidney stones and bladder problems. Cleavers have also been used for external skin irritations such as eczema by applying freshly crushed herbs or a tea made from the leaves to the skin. Cleavers have been used for other external skin conditions such as minor burns and also for nose bleeds. Cleavers is said to help with skin conditions such as eczema by helping to clean out the lymphatic system by taking a tea or tincture. Cleavers has also been used for helping with weight loss.

Other Uses for Cleavers

Cleavers stems have been used to make a sieve and also have been rubbed on the hands to remove pitch.

Please consume wild plants at your own risk! Consult multiple reliable sources before consuming any wild plants! This video is for information and entertainment only!

References

Dickinson, Richard. Weeds of Canada and the Northern United States. The University of Alberta Press. 1999.

Gray, Beverley. The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North. Aroma Borealis Press. 2011.

Herrera, Melany. The Front Yard Forager: Identifying, Collecting, and Cooking the 30 Most Common Urban Weeds. Skipstone. 2013.

Kloos, Scott. Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants. Timber Press, Inc. 2017

MacKinnon, A. Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine Media Productions (BC) Ltd. 2014.

Nyerges, Christopher. Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants. Chicago Review Press Incorporated. 2014.

Parish, R.; Coupe, R.; and Lloyd, D. Plants of the Inland Northwest and Southern Interior British Columbia. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2018

Pojar, Jim and MacKinnon, Andy. Plants of Coastal British Columbia including Washington, Oregon & Alaska. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2004.

Varner, Collin. Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. 2020.

Warnock, Caleb. 437 Edible Wild Plants of the Rocky Mountain West. Familius LLC. 2018.