Forth Valley Herbal Medicine

Nathalie Fournier

MEDICAL HERBALIST & CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY

BSc (hons) Herbal Medicine;CSTI&II M.N.I.H.M

Gallium aparine - Cleavers

French = Gratterton, German = Klebelabkraut

Common names

Cleavers, Clivers, Goosegrass, Hedge burs, Sticky-willie, Cleaverwort, Coachweed. Gosling weed, Love-man, Stick-a-back, Sweethearts, Hayruff, Hayriffe, Erriffe, Burweed, Barweed, Goosebill, Hedgeheriffe, Grip grass, Catchweed, Catchgrass, Scratweed, Mutton chops, Robin-run-in-the-grass, Everlasting friendship, Clike, Click, Clitheren, Clithers.

Description

A native British straggling annual (rubiaceae), up to 120cm tall, Galium clings to bushes and hedges and to any creature brushing by them, by tiny curved prickles on the angles of the stems and the veins and edges of the thin lanceolate leaves. The leaves, up to 3cm long, occur in whorls of 6-8 encircling the stem. Small greenish-white flowers are borne in peduncles from the axils of each whorl. The round two-lobed fruits form small burrs up to 6mm in diameter, covered with hooked bristles. Galium is a common hedgerow plant throughout Britain, Europe, Canada, and the eastern half and Pacific coast of the United States.

Parts used

Arial parts

History

Gerard recommends Cleavers as a marvellous remedy for the bites of snakes, spiders and all venomous creatures and, quoting Pliny, says: 'a pottage made of Clivers, a little mutton and oatmeal is good to cause lankness and keepe from fatnesse.' Culpeper recommended the herb for earache. Most of its popular names concern its clinging nature. The Anglo-Saxon 'hedgeherriff' means a tax gatherer or robber. The specific name of the plant, aparine, also refers to the plant's habit, being derived from the Greek aparo (to seize).

Medicinal uses

Mild diuretic, mild astringent, lymphatic, alterative, anti-inflammatory, aperient, tonic, antineoplastic

Benefit

Other uses

Cleavers can be eaten as a vegetable, gently sweated in a pan like spinach. The juice is a popular spring tonic in Central Europe, the Balkans and elsewhere. In France, the crushed herb is applied as a poultice to sores and blisters. Geese are fond of this herb, also known as goosegrass, and it is often fed to poultry. The seeds can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute. Greek shepherds used the stems in the to make sieves for straining milk, and Linnaeus reported the same use being made of them in Sweden. The roots produce a red dye.

Warnings

No contraindications are known. It has been stated that diabetics should take the fresh juice with caution, although this is not supported by pharmacological data