Thicket/ Cleavers

COMMON NAME: Cleavers

OTHER COMMON NAME(S): Spring Cleavers, Bedstraw, Goosegrass, Barweed

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Gallium aparine

FAMILY: Rubiaceae

COMMUNITY: Thicket

STATUS:  Native  

LIFESPAN: Annual

HEIGHT: 4 to 40 inches

FLOWERING TIME: Late April to mid June

FRUITING TIME: Late May to July

DISTRIBUTION: Statewide outside the Pine Barrens in New Jersey

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: Stems weak, reclines on surrounding vegetation, seldom many branches ~ Bristles on square stems ~ Leaves in whorls, narrow ~ Flower clusters 3-5 flowers, 4 petals, on leaf axil or short stems, greenish white ~ Fruit tiny, 2-lobed, dry bristle

GENERAL INFORMATION: The Rubiaceae family commonly called the Madder or Bedstraw family consists of 630 genera and 10,400 species of shrubs, lianas, trees and a few herbs.  The family provides us with coffee (Coffea), quinine (Cinchona), ipecacuanha (Cephaelis), yohimbine (Pausinystalia), dyes, timber and ornamental shrubs (Gardenia, for example). Cleavers can be found on rich , moist, usually shaded ground of woods and edges, meadows and waste areas. Cleavers is edible as a cooked green, salad or coffee.  The tender young shoots are excellent boiled and served with butter; cooked shoots can be chilled and added to salad.  The ripe fruit slow-roasted until dark brown and ground makes an outstanding coffee substitute. Cleavers is reported to have medicinal value.  The aerial parts collected during the flowering season and dried, as well as the fresh, flowering herb or the fresh or dried whole plant are useful.  A tea prepared from the plant can be used applied topically for skin rashes or ulcers; taken internally as a diuretic or “dropsy”.

Please note: While harvesting wild berries/fruit is permitted at Island Beach State Park, visitors must adhere to park regulations at all times and must not damage vegetation or go off designated trails.  This information is presented for educational purposes.