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| − | {{Other uses of|goosegrass|Goosegrass (disambiguation){{!}}Goosegrass}}
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| − | '''''Galium aparine''''', ('aparine' from Greek 'apairo' - “lay hold of” or “seize”) <ref>http://climbers.lsa.umich.edu/?p=461</ref> with many common names including '''cleavers''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | accessdate=20 June 2015}}</ref> clivers, "bort", bedstraw, goosegrass,<ref name=GRIN/> catchweed,<ref name=GRIN/> stickyweed, stickybud, robin-run-the-hedge, sticky willy,<ref name=GRIN/><ref name="Irish">{{cite web|last1=Viney|first1=Michael|title=Another Life: Sometimes stickyback is just the weed we need|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/another-life-sometimes-stickyback-is-just-the-weed-we-need-1.1503501|website=24 Aug 2013|publisher=Irish times.com|accessdate=18 June 2017}}</ref> sticky willow, stickyjack, stickeljack, and grip grass, is a herbaceous [[annual plant]] of the family [[Rubiaceae]]. | + | '''Cleavers''' |
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| − | ==Description==
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| − | 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 three feet or longer, and are angular or square shaped.<ref name="Duke-2001-p100">{{cite book|author=Duke, James A.|title=Handbook of Edible Weeds|publisher=CRC Press|year=2001|isbn=9780849329463|page=100|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVrteo-8cI0C&pg=PA100}}</ref> The leaves are simple, narrowly oblanceolate to linear, and borne in whorls of six to eight.<ref name="Duke-2001-p100" /><ref>{{Cite book|author=Rabeler, Richard K.|title=Gleason's Plants of Michigan|publisher=University of Michigan Press|year=2007|isbn=9780472032464|page=299|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6WF1HjsNeqAC&pg=PA299}}</ref><ref>Webb, D.A., Parnell, J. and Doogue, D. 1996. ''An Irish Flora.'' Dundalgan Press (W.Tempest) Ltd. Dundalk. 0-85221-131-7</ref>
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| − | 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]].<ref name="ModHerbal-p206">{{cite book|author=Grieve, Maud|chapter=Clivers|title=A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 1|publisher=Dover Publications|year=1971|isbn=9780486227986|page=206|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLWve-vBLoC&pg=SL26-PA6}}</ref>The corolla bears 4 petals.<ref>Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012 ''Webb's An Irish Flora'' Cork University Press. {{ISBN|978-185918-4783}}</ref> The globular fruits are [[burr (fruit)|burrs]] which grow one to three seeds clustered together; they are covered with hooked hairs which cling to animal fur, aiding in seed dispersal.<ref name="ModHerbal-p206" />
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| − | ==Distribution==
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| − | 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.<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/galapa/all.html US Forest Service]</ref> It is considered a [[noxious weed]] in many places.<ref>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=85676 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref><ref>[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Galium%20aparine.png Biota of North America Program]</ref>
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| − | == Effects on the body ==
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| − | For some people, skin contact with ''Galium aparine'' causes an unpleasant localized rash<ref name="Evanoff">{{cite news|author=Evanoff, K. |title=Bedstraw is a weed that bites back |publisher=Tribune Chronicle |year=2013 |url=http://tribune-chronicle.com/page/content.detail/id/589618/Bedstraw-is-a-weed-that-bites-back.htm |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413130250/http://tribune-chronicle.com/page/content.detail/id/589618/Bedstraw-is-a-weed-that-bites-back.htm |archivedate=2014-04-13 |df= }}[Link Evanoff]</ref> known as [[contact dermatitis]].
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| − | == Chemistry ==
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| − | Chemical constituents of ''Galium aparine'' include: [[iridoid]] [[glycosides]] such as [[asperulosidic acid]] and [[10-deacetylasperulosidic acid]],<ref>Iridoids from ''Galium aparine''. D Deliorman, I Çalis, and F Ergun, Pharmaceutical Biology, 2001, Vol. 39, No. 3, Pages 234-235, {{doi|10.1076/phbi.39.3.234.5928}}</ref> [[asperuloside]], [[monotropein]] and [[aucubin]], alkaloids such as [[caffeine]], phenolics such as [[phenolic acid]]s, [[anthraquinone]] derivatives such as the aldehyde [[nordamnacanthal]] ([[1,3-dihydroxy-anthraquinone-2-al]]),<ref name=Morimoto>Antifeedant activity of an anthraquinone aldehyde in ''Galium aparine'' L. against ''Spodoptera litura'' F. Masanori Morimoto, Kumiko Tanimoto, Akiko Sakatani and Koichiro Komai, Phytochemistry, May 2002, Volume 60, Issue 2, Pages 163–166, {{doi|10.1016/S0031-9422(02)00095-X}}</ref> [[flavonoid]]s and [[coumarin]]s, organic acids such as [[citric acid]] and a red dye.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rahman, Atta-ur|title=Studies in Natural Products Chemistry: Bioactive Natural Products (Part L)|publisher=Gulf Publishing Company|year=2005|isbn=9780444521712|page=291|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BURF2WXdVzEC&pg=PA291}}</ref>
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| − | ==Edibility==
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| − | ''Galium aparine'' is edible. The leaves and stems of the plant can be cooked as a leaf vegetable if gathered before the fruits appear. However, the numerous small hooks which cover the plant and give it its clinging nature can make it less palatable if eaten raw.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=uo4GlfyjgFwC&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86 |title=Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2013-08-14|isbn=9780806974880 |year=1990 }}</ref><ref name="Tull99">Tull, Delena. "Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest." 1999, p. 145</ref> Geese thoroughly enjoy eating ''G. aparine'', hence one of its other common names, "goosegrass".<ref>{{cite book|author=Dukes, James A.|title=The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook|publisher=Macmillan|year=2002|isbn=9780312981518|page=102|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AdwG0jCJYcUC&pg=PA102}}</ref> Cleavers are in the same [[family (biology)|family]] as coffee. The fruits of cleavers have often been dried and roasted, and then used as a coffee substitute which contains less caffeine.<ref name="Duke-2001-p100" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Wood, Matthew|chapter=Galium aparine. Cleavers. Lady's Bedstraw. Goosegrass.|title=The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants|publisher=North Atlantic Books|year=2008|isbn=9781556436925|page=267|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfoJsFHFSnMC&pg=PA267}}</ref>
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| − | == Folk medicine ==
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| − | [[Poultices]] and washes made from cleavers were traditionally used to treat a variety of skin ailments, light wounds and burns.<ref name="ModHerbal-p207" /> As a pulp, it has been used to relieve poisonous bites and stings.<ref>Jones, Pamela. ''Just Weeds: History, Myths, and Uses.'' Prentice Hall Press, New York. 1991.</ref> To make a poultice, the entire plant is used, and applied directly to the affected area.<ref>{{cite book|authors=Schneider, Anny & Mellichamp, Larry|title=Wild Medicinal Plants: What to Look For, When to Harvest, How to Use|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2002|isbn=9780811729871|page=73|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNKWzlTuaT4C&pg=PA73}}</ref>
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| − | Cleavers is also used as a lymphatic system aid, as it assists the lymph nodes in cleaning out toxins. Making a tea with the dried leaves is most common.<ref>https://www.achs.edu/blog/2012/05/14/extend-benefits-massage-part-2</ref> It can be brewed hot or cold. For a cold infusion, steep in water and refrigerate for 24–48 hours.
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| − | == Other uses ==
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| − | [[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. [[Linnaeus]] later reported the same usage in Sweden, a tradition that is still practiced in modern times.<ref name="ModHerbal-p207">{{cite book|author=Grieve, Maud|chapter=Clivers|title=A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 1|publisher=Dover Publications|year=1971|isbn=9780486227986|page=207|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLWve-VvBLoC&pg=SL26-PA7}}</ref><ref>Loudon, John Claudius. "An encyclopædia of plants", 1836, p. 93</ref>
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| − | 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.<ref name="Tull99" /><ref>{{cite book|authors=Runkel, Sylvan T. & Roosa, Dean M.|title=Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest|publisher=University of Iowa|year=2009|isbn=9781587297960|page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EyLjHnUap0UC&pg=PA65}}</ref> The roots of cleavers can be used to make a permanent red dye.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Hutchens, Alma R.|title=A Handbook of Native American Herbs|publisher=Shambala Publications|year=1992|isbn=9780877736998|page=97|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YaSTm6SVCcUC&pg=PT97}}</ref>
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| − | == Ecology ==
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| − | The plant can be found growing in hedges and waste places, limestone scree and as a garden weed.<ref>Hackney, P. (Ed)1992. ''Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland''. Third Edition. Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast. {{ISBN|0 85389 446 9}}</ref><ref>Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. ''Excursion Flora of the British Isles''. Second Edition. Cambridge University Press.</ref>
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| − | ''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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gucker|first1=Corey|title=Galium aparine|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/galapa/all.html|website=Fire Effects Information System|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory|accessdate=14 February 2017}}</ref>
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| − | Many [[insects]] feed on cleavers including [[aphids]] and [[spittlebugs]].
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| − | The [[anthraquinone]] [[aldehyde]] [[nordamnacanthal]] ([[1,3-dihydroxy-anthraquinone-2-al]]) present in ''G. aparine'' has an [[antifeedant]] activity against ''[[Spodoptera litura]]'', the Oriental leafworm moth, a species which is considered an agricultural pest.<ref name=Morimoto/> The Acari ''[[Cecidophyes rouhollahi]]'' can be found on ''G. aparine''.<ref>A new species of ''Cecidophyes'' (Acari: Eriophyidae) from ''Galium aparine'' (Rubiaceae) with notes on its biology and potential as a biological control agent for ''Galium spurium''. Charnie Craemer, Rouhollah Sobhian, Alec S. McClay and James W. Amrine Jr., International Journal of Acarology, 1999, Volume 25, Issue 4, pages 255-263, {{doi|10.1080/01647959908684162}}</ref>
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| − | ==Etymology==
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| − | ''Galium'' is [[Dioscorides]]’ name for the plant. It is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word for ‘milk’, because the flowers of ''[[Galium verum]]'' were used to curdle milk in cheese making.<ref name="gledhill">Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|9780521866453}} (hardback), {{ISBN|9780521685535}} (paperback). pp 52, 174</ref>
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| − | ''Aparine'' is a name used by [[Theophrastus]] for goosegrass. It is derived from Greek and means ‘clinging’ or ‘seizing’.<ref name="gledhill" />
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| − | ==Photos==
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| − | {{gallery
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| − | |File:Goosegrass (Galium aparine), Loch Clunie - geograph.org.uk - 1505032.jpg|Cleavers, creeping together over the tops of other plants on the forest floor.
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| − | |File:Galium_aparine.jpg|Leaves and stem of ''G. aparine''. Notice the angular stem and whorled oblong/lanceolate leaves.
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| − | |File:Flowers February 2008-4.jpg|Flower and fruit of ''G. aparine''. The fruit is an adhesive burr that clings to animals passing by to spread the seed.
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| − | |File:Galium.aparine.jpg|Galium aparine, closeup with leaves and fruit, from [[Cologne]], Germany
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| − | |File:Galium aparine 3769.JPG|Closeup of ''G. aparine'' leaf. Note the hooked barbs used to climb over substrate.
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |
| | {{Reflist|2}} | | {{Reflist|2}} |
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| − | ==Further reading==
| + | [[Category:Rubiaceae]] |
| − | {{Commons category|Galium aparine}}
| + | [[Category:Plants for Keenan to eat]] |
| − | * ''Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West'', Gregory L. Tilford, {{ISBN|0-87842-359-1}}
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| − | *[http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=galium+aparine Altervista Flora Italiana]
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| − | {{Taxonbar|from=Q161581}}
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| − | [[Category:Medicinal plants of Asia]]
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| − | [[Category:Medicinal plants of Europe]]
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| − | [[Category:Medicinal plants of North America]]
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| − | [[Category:Galium|aparine]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Canada]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the United States]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Mexico]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Central America]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of South America]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Caribbean]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Australia]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Africa]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of the Canary Islands]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Greenland]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Hawaii]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of New Zealand]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Asia]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Bermuda]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of China]] | |
| − | [[Category:Plants described in 1753]] | |
