Image listed at
Kurt Stüber's Online Library
Actual Images from
Project Runeberg

CLEAVERS

(Goose Grass or Sweetheart Plant)

Latin Name: Galium aparine
Family: Rubiaceae
Height: 30-50cm

Easily identified by its leaves and clinging habit. Cleavers can be found from early spring, growing over other plants or along the ground.

A useful tonic and astringent but the seed pods can get tangled up in long coats and should not be fed.

A plant with a long history of medicinal use, human and veterinary. Particularly valuable in a wide range of problems which involve the lymphatic system and in 'dry skin conditions.

Constituents: Iridoid coumarins including glycoside asperuloside, gallotannic acid, citric acid.

Actions: Diuretic, alterative, anti-inflammatory, tonic, astringent, may inhibit and combat development of tumours.

Sources: Cleavers are included in the Galen's Garden's Hedgerow Herbs blend of 20 different herbs and wild plants.