Cleavers: Galium aparine

Plant Family & Name:

a. Rubiaceae (Madder/Coffee family)

b. Galium comes from the Greek word associated with bedstraw and is also connected to the Greek gala, meaning “milk,” because some species of Galium were traditionally used to help curdle milk. Aparine comes from the Greek apairo, meaning “to seize” or “lay hold of,” referring to the plant’s tiny hooked hairs that cause it to cling to clothing, animals, and neighboring plants. This gives cleavers many of its common names, including stickyweed, sticky willy, catchweed bedstraw, goosegrass, and cleavers. 

Habitat & Ecological role: Cleavers are an annual, scrambling plant found throughout much of Europe, Asia, and North America. It thrives in moist, fertile soils and is commonly found along hedgerows, woodland edges, floodplains, fields, gardens, disturbed ground, and cultivated areas. In the Southeast, it is particularly common in riparian and floodplain forests. Its weak stems climb through surrounding vegetation using tiny backward-facing hooked hairs. The seeds are similarly covered in hooks, allowing them to hitchhike on animals and clothing and spread to new locations. Ecologically, cleavers provide food for a variety of insects and caterpillars, while its scrambling growth allows it to quickly occupy disturbed areas. 

Parts Used:

Aerial parts — primarily the fresh herb, including leaves and tender stems. Cleavers are harvested in spring and early summer, before flowering or while the plant is young and succulent because the fresh plant contains much more of its characteristic juicy, green quality than the dried herb. 

Herbal Actions: Lymphatic alterative, lymphagogue, diuretic, cooling, soothing, mild anti-inflammatory, vulnerary.

Season: Spring to early summer

Taste: Green, mild, slightly bitter, fresh, watery.

Energetic Qualities: Cool, moist, light, flowing, soft, cleansing.

Indications: swollen lymph nodes, sluggish lymphatic flow, urinary irritation, mild fluid retention, skin eruptions, and inflammatory or congestive conditions.

Body system affinities: Lymphatic, urinary, integumentary, immune.

Safety: The fresh plant can cause contact dermatitis or skin irritation because of its hooked hairs and sap. 

Experience: Cleavers feel like a fresh spring rain moving through the body. Its traditional action is gentle rather than forceful.