Catchweed Bedstraw

Appearance

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 3 feet or longer, and are angular or square shaped. The leaves are simple, narrowly oblanceolate to linear, and borne in whorls of six to eight.

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. The corolla bears 4 petals. The globular fruits are burrs which grow one to three seeds clustered together; they are covered with hooked hairs which cling to animal fur and human clothing, aiding in seed dispersal.

Naming

"Galium aparine" is known by a variety of common names in English. They include ' 'sweetheart', 'hitchhikers", "cleavers", "clivers", "bedstraw", " goosegrass", "catchweed", "stickyweed", "sticky bob", "stickybud", "stickyback", "sticky molly", "robin-run-the-hedge", "sticky willy", "sticky willow", "stickyjack", "stickeljack", "grip grass, sticky grass, bobby buttons, whippysticks", "velcro plant" and "sticky plants".

"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. "Aparine" is a name used by Theophrastus. It means 'clinging' or 'seizing', and is derived from the Greek 'lay hold of, seize', itself coming from 'from' + 'pull to lift'.

Distribution

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. It is considered a noxious weed in many places.

Habitat

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

"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.

Many insects feed on cleavers including aphids and spittlebugs.

The anthraquinone aldehyde nordamnacanthal present in "G. aparine" has an antifeedant activity against "Spodoptera litura", the Oriental leafworm moth, a species which is considered an agricultural pest. The mite "Cecidophyes rouhollahi" can be found on "G. aparine".

Uses

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.

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. The roots of cleavers can be used to make a permanent red dye.

Children in Britain and Ireland 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.