CleaversScientific Name : Galium aparine |
Annual, spreading by seed which develop in a fruit covered with small hooked barbs for attaching them to the fur of passing animals for dispersal. The square stems and the leaves also have tiny
barbs so the whole plant can become entangled with a passerby. I can remember as a child using it as a sticky missile when playing. It scrambles up through plants
and hedges and can overwhelm them.
One of the common names in some countries is Goose Grass, but is not the true Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) which can be a lawn weed grass.
The fresh topgrowth can be taken as an infusion as a spring tonic, but it has been used for some ailments as well, such as cystitis, psoriasis and eczema. It is the young growth that is used. The leaves and stems can be cooked as a spinach if picked before the seeds form.
The small white star-like flowers appear from June to August and are self pollinated. They produce a barbed, spherical seed capsule about 3 to 4 mm in diameter, either singly or in pairs. Most fall close to the parent, but they remain 'sticky' as they dry and can be carried away on anything which approaches too close. Among crops the distribution can be shown to follow the direction of harvesting machinery as the seeds fall from the disturbed stems. Some germinate in the autumn and the rest in the following spring or remain viable in the soil for 2-3 years.
Height - up to 150 cm.
Hoeing or hand pulling is the easiest option. Do it before seed set, preferably
at seedling stage in late autumn or spring, but they can germinate throughout winter as well if the weather is mild.
Weedkillers to use:-
A residual agent to suppress germination of seeds.
Paraquat, Diquat kill top growth on contact, but not much use if
growing through other plants.
