Have you ever glanced at the sticky weed in your garden and dismissed it outright? Well, it's time to reconsider.
Meet Cleavers (Galium aparine), a plant that's more than just a sticky annoyance. From its tiny white flowers to its role in supporting your local ecosystem, let's uncover the secrets of this remarkable plant.
Botanical Name: Galium aparine
Common name: Cleavers, Goosegrass, Catchweed Bedstraw
Native Region: North America, Europe, Asia
Growing Type: Annual, but readily self-sows so it will grow back if allowed to drop seed.
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Family: Madder/Coffee (Rubiaceae)
Major identifying characteristics:
-Ravensong Seeds + Herbals , Strictly Medicinal Seeds, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, + personal observations
*the best way to identify plants is to have a local plant expert support you in person. These characteristics could also apply to a range of plants. Cross reference. Be smart.
I’m always delighted to spot a patch of cleavers in my yard! It’s easily identified by its growing habit - intertwined and sticking to itself.
Look for its distinctive square stems and whorls of thin oval leaves. Usually you’ll see 6-8 leaves in each whorl.
Stems are easy to break - in fact, if you’re harvesting the plant for dye, you’ll have to carefully dig out the plant to get it out entirely. Roots are a lovely saffron orange color.
The true test, though, is its ability to stick to your clothing. Not only the seeds will do this, but the leaves to. It’s almost like your clothing is a felt board, the the leaves are playthings to add as decoration.
If you spot cleavers in bloom, the flowers will have tiny white flowers with four petals each.
You might also find this plant with shorter and stouter leaves than what’s pictured here. I’ve come across this in my yard sometimes, and Corey Gucker from the USDA Forest Service explains that this can happen in dry conditions.
From shaded woodlands to the edges of meadows, this plant has a knack for making almost any environment its home.
You’ll find Cleavers almost anywhere in continental United States, southern Canada into Alaska, and northern Mexico (USDA FS).
It grows in a wide range of habitats, from woodlands to meadows. One commonality is that it’s often in a partly shaded area (NOWPP).
All of the patches of cleavers in my PNW yard are in mostly shaded areas, usually among Douglas Fir groves and Big Leaf Maple.
Quite often, I find them in the same areas that trillium grows. They get a few hours of sun a day during the summer.
You might also find them sprouting in the autumn or winter. I’ve seen some happy and healthy cleavers half under snow after a few days of 15F weather.
The USDA Forest Service also lists that areas with the following tree combinations are found in tandem with cleavers:
It is also found in grasslands, meadows, and prairie.
Next time you're out hiking or wandering through a meadow, keep your eyes peeled for these resilient plants!
You may also find Cleavers establishing itself in your garden.
If you have cleavers growing nearby, it’s likely that an animal (maybe even you!) or wind carried the seeds over into your garden soil.
If you don’t have cleavers growing nearby, the seeds may have come in with any compost with livestock manure in it. In fact cleavers seeds germinate a bit better after they’ve been digested (USDA FS).
If you wish to be rid of the grace of cleavers, you can easily weed them (RHS). It’s best to do this before they go to seed, of course.
You may need to wear gloves, as the sap of the plant can cause skin irritation (PFAF).
Carpetweed is in a different genus (Mollugo verticillata). According to Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, differentiatiing features of Carpetweed is that is has smooth, not square stems.
In looking at photographs, I noticed that carpetweed flowers have five petals, where Cleavers has four.
One of my favorite moths, the hummingbird hawk moth, selects cleavers as its larval source.
Imagine my delight when the whimsical hummingbird hawk moth, a favorite of mine, graces the garden. It's a beautiful reminder of the role Cleavers play in supporting our fluttering friends.
When I see this amazing creature flying around the garden, I know I have my wild cleavers patches to thank (Gardeners Corner).
Cleavers is a very easy to grow plant - while some may think you’re foolish for cultivating it.
*The key is to understand your local ecosystem - is this plant considered invasive there? If so, do not grow the plant.
*The next thing to understand is that you must steward the plant while also stewarding the land. If this plant even just starts to get out of your control, you'll need to remove it so that it does not harm your ecosystem.
1. Obtain Seeds:
2. Sow seeds:
3. Germination time:
Did you know that Cleavers companionably coexists with a variety of plants?
Before we dive into Cleavers' companions in the garden, let's take a moment to introduce the concept of a permaculture guild.
A permaculture guild is a group of plants that symbiotically benefit each other when grown together. This method of companion planting creates a mini-ecosystem where each plant contributes to the health and productivity of the whole.
A guild mimics natural ecosystems to create a harmonious and sustainable garden environment.
Its woodland habit makes it a great plant to grow in a forest garden.
Edible plants mentioned by USDA’s Forest Service as enjoying some cleaver company are:
Water: Supplement cleavers with water around once a week once it’s established. In my yard, it receives plenty of rain water through June, and if I don’t water it after a dry July, it will start to crisp up in August.
Sun: Be sure to grow the plant in an area that receives dappled sunlight, or is partly shaded.
Harvests: Cleavers is a cut-and-come-again herb, like nettles or mint. If you leave some of the bottom of the plant behind, it will grow back (Ravensong Herbals).
Cleavers intertwines with human tradition, playing an integral role in age-old practices from cheese-making to natural dyeing. Let’s look at the fascinating cultural history of Galium aparine and discover how it's shaped our past.
Dairy
You might be surprised to learn that the name 'Galium' stems from the word 'milk.' This isn't just a fun fact; it's a hint at the plant's historical use in cheese-making!
According to NC State Extension, the flowers can curdle milk to facilitate cheese production. I have read somewhere that this is because they are slightly acidic.
In addition, the ability of cleavers to stick together in a mat helps with straining raw milk before consumption.
Dye plant
Cleavers is in the Madder family, and it offers a beautiful red dye similar to its relative.
The benefit of cleavers over madder is that it grows faster. While madder root offers a bigger yield, you’ll need to wait around 3 years for it to get to harvesting size.
In contrast, cleavers can go from seedling to harvest in just a few months.
I’ve found that it’s best to harvest after the plants have bloomed or gone to seed. The root structure is longer and larger at this point.
Mattresses
The reason why Cleavers is also called Bedstraw is because it was used as a mattress filling. Lady’s Bedstraw, another Galium species (has yellow flowers) can also be utilized in this same way.
It's clear that Cleavers are not just a plant, but a testament to the diversity of ways that what some call a “pest” is actually an integral part of the ecosystem and human culture.
Whether you see it as a weed to be rid of or an ethnobotanical plant to be cherished, Cleavers invites us to look closer at the greenery we often overlook.
Continue your journey into sustainable living right here, where a wealth of knowledge awaits to deepen your connection with the land.
