• Common name : Cleavers
• Scientific name : Galiumaparine
• Family : Rubiaceae
• Native land : Europe and Western Asia (i.e. Eurasia), Australia
Cleavers is an annual, sprawling herb. It has small hooks along the stems, at the tip and along the edges of the leaves and on the fruit. These hooks will catch (cleave) onto clothes, fur and feathers, helping this plant to spread to new locations. The leaves are lance-shaped, with the apex or tip broadly rounded. The flowers are small and appear on a short straight stem. The fruit is kidney-shaped, densely covered with hooked hair on a straight pedicel (flower stalk). The leaves and the stems of the plant can be cooked as a leaf vegetable if gathered before the fruits appear.
