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HERB ALLEY
Cleavers
(Galium aparine)
COMMON NAMES: Bedstraw,
coachweed, cleaverwort, goose grass, gosling weed, hedge-burs, loveman,
stick-a-back, sweethearts.
MEDICINAL PART: The herb.
DESCRIPTION: Cleavers
is an annual plant found in moist or grassy places and along riverbanks
and fences in Canada, the eastern half of the U.S., and the Pacific Coast.
A slender taproot produces the weak, square, procumbent or climbing, prickly
stem that grows from 2 to 6 feet long. The rough, oblong-lanceolate
to almost linear leaves occur in whorls of 6 or 8 around the stem.
The small, white or greenish-white flowers grow in cymes on long, axillary
peduncles from May to September. The fruit consists of two joined,
bristly, globular, one-seeded carpels.
PROPERTIES AND USES:
Antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, vulnerary. The predominant
uses for cleavers are external, although the tea has been recommended for
stomach and intestinal catarrh and for irritations of mucous membranes,
including those of the urinary tract. The juice of the fresh plant
or a tea made from the dried plant is popular for skin problems.
The juice or tea is applied daily and allowed to dry (before each application,
wash the affected area with rectified alcohol, bruning the cloth each time).
If preferred, make a salve for the skin by mixing the fresh juice with
butter (renew every 3 hours and burn the cloth used to apply it).
Applying the crushed fresh leaves directly is also said to be helpful for
skin problems and for stopping bleeding . Cleavers is popularly used
in Europe for healing wounds and sores.
One of the best remedies
for kidney and bladder troubles, scalding urine, and in suppressed urine,
especially when used with broom, uva ursi, buchu and marshmallow.
Makes an excellent wash for the face to clear complexion. Due to
its refrigerant properties it is excellent in all cases of fever, scarlet
fever, measles, and all acute diseases. Good in many skin diseases,
such as cancer, scrofula, and severe cases of eczema. Also good for
inflammatory stages of gonorrhea. Excellent for stone in the bladder,
scurvy, and dropsy. This herb may be used freely. Is excellent
in jaundice. Can be used as spinach. Is excellent to cleanse
the blood and strengthen the liver used in this way.
Cleavers has a number
of uses in herbal cosmetics and body care. An infusion of the herb
applied to the skin is said to clear the compexion and can also be used
as a hair rinse to treat dandruff. In addition, a reliable natural
deodorant can be made from the plant.
PREPERATION AND DOSAGE:
Use the juice of the fresh plant or dry the plant immediatly to keep for
later use.
Infusion: Steep 1 oz.
dried herb in 1 pint warm (not boiling) water for 2 hours. Take 2
to 8 tbsp., three or four times a day.
Tincture: Take 20 to
30 drops in water, as required.
The Herb Book by
John Lust
Back to Eden by
Jethro Kloss
The New Age Herbalist
by Richard Mabey
