Vivienne Campbell Bsc (Hons) MNIMH is a qualified herbalist, foraging teacher and professional natural cosmetic formulator. She teaches classes in Ireland & UK and worldwide via her online video courses. Vivienne loves teaching people how to use herbs simply, effectively and joyfully. She believes it is everyone’s birth-right to know how to use common local plants as nutritious wild foods and health-enhancing natural remedies. Viv runs foraging courses in London, Ireland and Portugal. You can discover more on her website: https://theherbalhub.com/
THE FASCINATING AND VARIED USES OF A COMMON SPRING ‘WEED’
Medical disclaimer: The information given here is for general educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the care of qualified medical practitioners. In particular seek professional advice if you are pregnant, breast-feeding, have an underlying medical condition or are taking prescription pharmaceutical drugs.
Common Name: Cleavers Latin name: Galium aparine
Also called Clivers, Sticky Willows, Sticky Willies, Goose Grass and Robin-Run-The-Hedge, whatever name it is you use for it, we all know this plant. It’s the sticky one that grows up through the other plants in the garden. Kids have loads of fun picking it and throwing it at each other.
It has numerous uses as an herbal medicine. It’s well-known to professional herbalists and is a commonly-used medicine in their clinics. For all it grows abundantly around us, it is often hard to find extracts of it available in health food shops. So if we want to use it ourselves then it’s much better to learn how to identify it and the various methods of using it to make remedies at home. Its medical properties are varied and it was once so highly thought of that it was even used in a major hospital right here in Ireland. Read on to learn more!
Parts used: all the bits above the ground (i.e. stem and leaves) when the plant is fresh and vibrant in the spring and early summer.
How to use it: the easiest way to use cleavers is to make tea or a herbal infusion. Pick the cleavers, wash it, put it in a pot, pour on boiled water. Let it infuse for 10 mins – 1 hour. Strain and drink. The amount that is recommended varies depending on the reason you’re taking it and whether or not you’re trying to treat a specific condition. However, most people benefit from it as a general tonic by drinking a cup or two of it daily when it is in season.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
To reduce swollen glands e.g. tonsillitis: Cleavers is one of a group of herbs that herbalists refer to as a ‘lymphatic’. This is because it is believed to stimulate the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a major part of the immune system: lymph nodes and glands such as the tonsils are the nuts and bolts of this system. Drinking and/or gargling cleavers tea can help to ease the pressure on the lymphatic system and to drain swollen glands.
For its ‘detoxifying’ actions: ‘Detox’ is a word that gets bandied about a lot nowadays with all sorts of products claiming to be ‘detoxifying’. However, part of the function of the lymphatic system is to help to remove metabolic waste products and to clean them up so that the waste products don’t continue to circulate around the body. So a healthily functioning lymphatic system should prevent a build-up of waste products in the body. Cleavers also supports the kidneys and is a diuretic. The kidneys help to filter waste products from the body so consuming cleavers regularly can help to support the elimination of waste via these organs. So yes, if you’ve been over-indulging recently or simply feel a bit sluggish then adding fresh cleavers tea in to your daily routine for a week or so should help to pick up your energy and give you a spring in your step.
To cool the body down: I also find that cleavers tea is a lovely remedy to help to cool down, especially for children who get very hot and sweaty. It is a safe and gentle herb and most people can benefit from drinking it.
TOP TIP: If you are prone to swollen glands then it can also be worth making an infused oil from cleavers. Infused or macerated oils are ways of extracting medicinal plants so that they can be easily applied to the skin. Cleavers infused oil can be very helpful when applied to swollen glands. Again, this is something that you will have to make yourself. I haven’t ever seen or encountered this extract being produced for sale by any herbal company. I teach how to make infused oils and all common herbal extracts for home use at my workshops, classes and in my online course.
SKINCARE & COSMETIC USES
Fresh cleavers make a really effective natural deodorant: The first time I made this I was astonished by how well it works. Having read about it in a foraging book by Pamela Michael I was intrigued and tried it out. I’ve been using natural deodorants since 1990 and this one works so much better than a lot of the ones that I’ve bought from the shops over the years. It’s a herbal decoction, a very simple extract to make. Take a large handful of the aerial parts (i.e. leaves and stalks growing above the ground). Put them in a pan. Pour on 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil, turn down, then gently simmer for 15 mins. Strain. When cool apply to armpits. If you have some left then pour it into a bottle and store it in the fridge. Sometimes I add a few drops of essential oil to this too e.g. rosemary but it works very well without this. You need to use it up within 2-3 days because it doesn’t contain a preservative so bacteria and mould will grow quickly. Alternatively, try using your left-over cleavers tea as a deodorant. If you’ve made a pot of cleavers tea and haven’t managed to drink it within 24 hours, then try applying that as a deodorant. This won’t keep for as long though because it hasn’t been boiled so pour away any unused infusion if it is more than 48 hours old. There’s a video demonstrating how to make this deodorant in my online course. I was absolutely delighted last year when Lise Andersen, a professional natural skincare formulator doing my online course managed to find a way of extracting it that gave it a 6 month shelf-life. She was so impressed with how well it works that she used this cleavers extract as the basis of the natural deodorant section of a recent publication by her on natural cosmetic formulating.
To reduce freckling: It seems to me that in centuries gone by, people were always trying to get rid of their freckles! Herbal books are full of recommendations for plants to try to reduce freckling. Cleavers is one such herb. It was recommended that the tea be used daily to wash the skin. I haven’t tried this because I like freckles and don’t really understand why people would want to get rid of them! If you try it yourself then do please report back to me on the results.
As a treatment to reduce fine lines and wrinkles: one of the students doing my online course swears by this use of cleavers! She makes a juice from them by whizzing up the little leaves with a drop of water, squeezing out the juice through muslin and then applying it to her face. She says the juice is deep green but soaks in very well. She read about this technique in the classic herbal book ‘Health Through God’s Pharmacy’ by Maria Treben, a well-known Austrian herbalist. Thanks so much to Sheila in County Clare, Ireland for bringing this little-known use of cleavers to my attention. It’s a great example of how much there is to learn, experiment with and try out. It’s such a joy to share our favourite techniques and recipes with each other. I learn loads from my students: it’s one of the reasons that I love to teach!
CLEAVERS MAKES THE BEST WILD ‘COFFEE’ I’VE EVER TASTED
This use might surprise you too. This one is for the summer, usually late July-early Sept. You know when the cleavers gets those little green sticky balls (quite often cats get covered in them)? Those green balls are the seeds. When they are ripe (beginning to dry out a little and starting to turn brown) I harvest them, wash them, leave them to dry, roast them in the oven and then grind them. They make the best herbal coffee that I’ve ever tasted (and I am a proper double-espresso drinker so I wouldn’t fob you off with any old rubbish!). Cleavers seed coffee has such a rich taste, with hints of vanilla in it I think. It’s nourishing and believed to give the immune system a bit of a boost. There’s a video lesson showing the whole process from plant to cup in the High Summer edition of my online course.
FORGOTTEN HISTORICAL USES
A remedy for bites: Old herbal books recommend cleavers for treating the bites of snakes, spiders and other venomous creatures. The sources I have read do not state whether this is taking cleavers internally or applying it externally so I can’t give any specific advice (or indeed speak from experience in this case, thankfully I haven’t been bitten by a snake so far). However, I mention it here on the off chance that one day this snippet of information may save your life should you find yourself bitten by something poisonous and are unable to reach a hospital! Which brings me on to the final thing about cleavers that I’d like to share with you today……
PROFESSIONAL USE IN HOSPITAL
Cleavers has been used to treat leg ulcers, even very stubborn ones that have refused to heal. Leg ulcers are common in the elderly and are notoriously hard to treat. They are made worse by poor circulation and inactivity. Fortunately there are many herbal treatments that can work well in poultice form and help to bring relief to this chronic condition. Poultices of fresh cleavers can be made. Regularly applying these poultices can encourage the skin to grow and healing to occur.
In fact, cleavers has such an excellent reputation for treating leg ulcers that it was once used by a doctor in St. Vincent’s hospital in Dublin. Back in 1883 Dr F J B Quinlan was so exasperated with how difficult it was to treat chronic ulcers and the issue of elderly people who had them being in hospital for months without gaining any relief that he decided to try out using cleavers on some of his patients. He sent his medical students out to gather cleavers to treat the patients and they started to get wonderful results even in the most severe cases. The medical team even managed to come up with a way of preserving the extracts so that some form of treatment was available when cleavers was out of season [you can’t pick most herbs in the winter because they simply aren’t growing then]. So impressed was he with the results that he wrote up his findings and sent them in to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and an extract from the article is available to view by CLICKING HERE.
It’s wonderful to read a doctor writing with such praise and passion for this simple, abundant and inexpensive herbal remedy. If only it was as easy to get permission nowadays to try out remedies in hospitals as it was back then, our hospitals systems might not be so over-whelmed!
To think that this is a plant that so many people regard as an irritating weed and spend time battling with in the garden. Just look at the list of useful and interesting applications of it that I’ve mentioned here today! And there are many more too. New research continues to be published about traditional local medicinal plants. It’s fascinating that there’s still so much to learn and discover.
Great article! Cleavers is a favourite of mine too. I didn’t know about the wrinkle one, though I have Treben’s book, will check it out. You may be interested in the recent Linnean Society Podcast ‘Magic, myths, medicine and lost remedies’ which talks about research at Kew investigating the ulcer cure. They’d unsuccessfully used dried cleavers to test the remedy, but a herbalist set them right about using fresh spring herbs. They then found healing chemicals. Interesting stuff!
Delighted you enjoyed it Kim! Yes please. Would love to read the research at Kew. Could you please email me the link? Hope all is well with you. x x
As always a fascinating and informative and really practical article. I so feel the same way about herbal treatments being available in a hospital environment.. we can only hope one day.
Thank you..that was lovely reading..and I didn’t know about the wrinkles either..
Delighted you enjoyed it Fiona. There was a herbal hospital in the UK. It closed down after the NHS was set up because it couldn’t survive in a country that provided free healthcare. Kevin Orbell-McSean’s grandfather was involved in it (Kevin is an herbalist in Co. Cork, Ireland). I haven’t tried the wrinkles thing either, because I haven’t got any yet…if you see me with a green face one day you’ll know why!
Thank you Vivienne. Great read. I have trying to make tincture from Cleavers, is that ok to do? I’m just experimenting with it.
I’m going to make the tea and put some mint in it too.
Thanks again.
My pleasure Ansu. Absolutely delighted you’re getting so much from this. Yes, of course you can tincture cleavers. You can use alcohol (usually brandy or vodka) or vinegar (cider or white wine vinegar work well). Sounds like a lovely tea, with the mint to flavour it. I sometimes put in a pinch of rosemary or lemon balm with mine.
I’m sorry- you said under the heading ‘As treatment for fine lines and wrinkles’ …”whizzing up” a few leaves with a drop of water…… Do you mean putting it in a blender- or just stirring it? …and literally ONE DROP of water added? Thanks for clarification. I’m one for details… 🙂
Hi Vicki thanks for the message,Can I suggest that you contact brilliant directly?Her contact details are on the blog. All the best John
My mother, born 1921 (from Coventry) and her mother before her, used to call the plant “herriff” (sp?) and used it with other ingredients to make “herb beer” every spring. She collected fresh nettles, dandelion leaves and herriff, mashed them up in water and boiled them, adding sugar and yeast and, when ready, bottled the resultant liquid to be drunk as “pop”, although it was probably more of a beer than a pop! It tasted great to us kids. I never knew the word “Cleavers” until reading your article. Very interesting. Thank you.
hi Robert, thanks for your interest,It’s great hearing about what people’s parents did especially in terms of foraging. All the best John
How interesting Robert! I haven’t ever heard of this name or cleavers being used this way. Gosh, honestly, we never stop learning. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Great article
All new to me
Would all the uses be ok if the cleavers had been frozen? In other words is it ok to freeze without losing its properties?
I cant seeing that being a problem but fresh is always best
Hi Gary, glad you found it helpful. Yes, cleavers extracts freeze well. You can make the tea and freeze that. Cleavers is one of the few herbs that seems to lose its action when it is dried, so it’s actually much better to freeze it.
Fantastic information, I have it grow in my garden every year. This year I may put it to good use
Thank you
Great! Glad to hear this. I hope that you enjoy using it.
Thank you for a most interesting article! I’ve only just found your site – but I’ll return! I’m just exploring the subject of foraging so this information is invaluable.
(We used to call this plant ”Sam’s Bane” – Sam was our cocker spaniel who’d come home covered in it! Little did we know then that we had an amateur forager in the family! We could have put him to work!)
Thank you again – great stuff.
Hi Linda, that’s so funny! Yes, cats and dogs do get covered in it. I hope that you enjoy learning about cleavers and find a way that suits you to start to use it.
Need more teachers to promote our wild plants and how to use them for our wellbeing!
Dear Wladzia, absolutely! Thankfully there is a genuine revival of interest in working with nature and also some excellent teachers and guides around.
I’ve always been interested in wild flowers and their uses. Thank you!
Is ok to drink after a heart attack and fitted with 3 stents Thankyou
you’d best email Viv directly about that. thanks john
Dear Christina, This is and example of where it is better to consult a qualified medical herbalist in a clinic. You’ll need someone who is familiar with pharmaceutical medication etc. to give you safe recommendations. I sorry but I don’t have the capacity to take on any more clinical work just now. There are plenty of qualified practitioners nowadays though.
Thank you for this article. I googled “how to kill sticky weed” and this article came up! I was getting ready to annihilate, or at least attempt to annihilate, this weed and now, I will intentionally move it to someplace confined. I will try the skin care first! Can anyone give me an idea of what it tastes like? Also, I have lymphedema and am going to try rubbing some infused oil into my skin.
Dear Karen, how wonderful! I’m always delighted when weeds turn from foes to friends! Did you try the skincare? We made deodorant with it at a class I taught last month. We were all delighted. Taste: it’s savoury but not strong. You can add something to the tea to flavour if you like e.g. a pinch of mint, ginger, rosemary or lemon balm. Whatever suits your palate.
I have only just been reading this it’s so interesting can’t wait to try it, First I’ve got to find it in my garden HOPE I HAVE IT, Thank you .
Dear Collette, how wonderful! Did you find it? Have a look in the shade, it tends to grow around other plants e.g. the bottom of roses bushes, through blackberry plants etc. It’s a bit late in the year now, but you should still be able to see it. The seeds are starting to ripen now: they are the bit that is used to make coffee.
Great article thank you. And I have just discovered my dog adores it like it’s an actual treat
So glad that you found it interesting Vicki. That’s so funny about your dog. Animals do tend to know what to graze that is good for them, if they are given the chance.
Long time gardener always learning more,
Dear Susan, great stuff. Cleavers so often the bane of many gardeners: it’s good to see another side to it.
I just watched “” with Tony Robinson. He was walking through Hailey Wood and met up with Sam Lee. As they walked along, Sam was describing several herbs along the trail through the Woods. One was Sticky Willie. Sam just picked some (I don’t know the time of year), but the herb was very nicely green. Both Sam and Tony just ate it as-is. They said it tasted bitter but tolerable. I’m wondering first if this is an herb that I can grow in Southern California, USA and secondly, which form would provide the most benefits?
Thank you, Sharyn Michelle
you’d best email Viv directly about that. thanks john
Dear Sharon, that’s interesting. It isn’t a plant that I would recommend eating raw because of the texture. The sticky hairs on it can be quite sharp and can give a minor cut to the lips, a bit like a paper cut. It doesn’t have a strong taste. I recommend cooking it or making a herbal tea. You can add other things to flavour it if you like e.g. ginger, rosemary, mint or lemon balm. Yes, Cleavers (Galium aparine) is grows wild in California too. Which extract is best?: with cleavers it doesn’t work if you use the dried herb so the key thing is to use it or make extracts from it when it is fresh and in season. So tea, tincture or infused vinegars made with the fresh herb.
my dog has intermittent colitis. Today on our walk, having not eaten her breakfast, I saw her eating new shoots of cleavers.Obviously dogs have a nose for medicinal plants.