Wildflower Spotlight: Bedstraw/Cleavers

A member of the Bedstraw family, Cleavers (Galium aparine) is a weak-stemmed, reclining plant with backward-hooked bristles on its seems and leaves. May-July it blooms small white flowers about 1/8th of an inch. 

• 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.
• 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.
• In medieval times a variant of this plant with pleasantly fragrant yellow flowers (Galium verum) was used to stuff mattresses.