Cleavers: The Traditional Hedgerow Herb

If you've ever walked through a British hedgerow in spring and come home with little green burrs stuck to your jumper, you've already met cleavers.

The plant

Cleavers (Galium aparine) is a sprawling annual found across the UK and Europe. It has narrow leaves arranged in whorls around a square stem, and tiny hooked hairs that cling to clothing and fur, which is where names like "sticky willy", "goosegrass" and "catchweed" come from.

Its place in herbal tradition

Cleavers has been part of European folk herbalism for centuries. Traditionally it was gathered young in spring, and it appears in old herbals as one of the classic "spring tonic" plants, a category of herbs people took as the seasons turned. It's the aerial parts, the stems and leaves above ground, that are used.

How it's used today

You'll find cleavers in liquid herbal extracts, dried for tea, and occasionally in capsules. In blends it's usually paired with other traditional botanicals such as red clover.

Things worth knowing

• It's a food supplement ingredient, not a medicine.
• If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, check with your healthcare provider before taking any herbal extract.
• Follow the serving size on the label and don't exceed it.

Cleavers is one of the four botanicals in Verdaflow Drops.

This article describes traditional use and is for general information only.