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WILD
FOODIES' HOME PAGE
PLANT PROFILE LIST
NAME: Cleaver
SPECIES / FAMILY: Galium Aparine / Rubiaceae
OTHER COMMON NAME(S): Goosegrass, Bedstraw
CONDITIONS:
sun/shade, almost any type of soil
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PARTS: |
EDIBLE |
TASTE |
RAW/COOK |
SEASON |
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All |
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Shoots |
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bitter |
RAW/COOK |
Spring |
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Leaves |
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bitter |
COOK |
Spring |
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Stalk/Stem |
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Buds |
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Flowers |
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Fruits |
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Pods |
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Seeds |
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coffee |
ROAST |
Summer/Fall |
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Nuts |
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Roots |
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Bark |
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PORTION: small
COMMENT: Cleaver has hairs that “cleaves” or sticks to things. As it matures it becomes unpalatable to eat raw. So, eat it when it's young. // “The tender young shoot tips - raw or cooked as a pot-herb and in soups. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute…it merely needs to be dried and lightly roasted and has much the flavour of coffee. A decoction of the whole dried plant (but not roots) gives a drink equal to tea.”(1)
CAUTION:
Boil shoots and young leaves for 15
minutes. (2) Eat raw only very young leafs as older ones can stick in the
throat.//
Eat
cleavers in very small amounts at first. Cook very thoroughly. If you get a
rash when harvesting, don't eat them at all. If you experience scratchiness in
the back of the throat, especially if the plants were very well cooked, don't
eat them. Do a skin test. Don't eat cleavers if you are pregnant, may become
pregnant or nursing, or are on high blood pressure and/or blood thinning
medications. (7)
NUTRITION/MEDICINAL: It is said that using this plant as a vegetable has a slimming effect on the body… Goosegrass (Cleaver) has a long history of domestic medicinal use and is also used widely by modern herbalists…Alterative; Antiphlogistic; Aperient; Astringent; Cancer; Depurative; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Homeopathy; Skin; Tonic; Vulnerary. (1)
RELATED HAIRLESS SPECIES: Hedge Bedstraw, Galium mollugo - https://www.wildfooduk.com/edible-wild-plants/hedge-bedstraw/ AND https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Galium+mollugo
LOOK-A-LIKE: Carpetweed - http://www.wildfoodies.org/Carpetweed.htm
POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES:
OTHER USES: Cleanser; Dye; Filter; Tinder. A red dye is obtained from a decoction of the root. When ingested it can dye the bones red. The dried plant is used as a tinder. The plant can be rubbed on the hands to remove pitch (tar). The stems are placed in a layer 8cm or more thick and then used as a sieve for filtering liquids.(1)
SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):
