Galium aparine L.
Catchweed bedstraw, stickywilly
Catchweed bedstraw is native to North America and Eurasia. Usually I prefer to photograph plants in the wild, but I put this one on the scanner to illustrate the tiny hooks that make it stick like velcro to everything it touches. This and related plants are called bedstraws because a fragrant-smelling yellow-flowered species, Galium verum, was used to stuff mattresses in medieval times.
Plants: Touch this plant and you’ll immediately know why it is called catchweed bedstraw or stickywilly. Every part of it—stems, leaves, flowers, and seed pods—are covered with tiny velcro-like hooks. They give every part of the plant a sandpapery feel. The hooks allow the plant to clamber over other plants, reaching heights of 5′ (1.5 m) in some cases. Stems, which are almost perfectly square in cross-section, may be purplish in the spring, but become green as the plant matures.
Leaves: The first thing that stands out about catchweed bedstraw is the regular whorls of 6-8 leaves every few inches. They give it a neat, orderly appearance. Leaves are 1–2″ (2.5–5 cm) long.
Flowers: 4-petaled flowers, which are white and only ⅛″ (3.2 mm) around, are barely noticeable, appearing from May to July.
Fruits: Globular fruits are burrs containing 1-3 seeds. Their hooked, velcro-like hairs catch rides on passing animals.
Habitats: Forests and woodlands, meadows, prairies, disturbed areas, and cultivated crops.
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Some Gallium species. |
Edibility: Tender young shoot tips are edible raw or added to soups and stews, though many people find them too bitter or object to their texture. They can also be harvested before flowering and cooked as leaf vegetables, a more widely enjoyed alternative. Dried and lightly roasted seeds can serve as a coffee substitute.
Medical: Stickywilly has many alleged medical uses, too many to make sense of.
Online References:
Leaf underside. · 6/9/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
7/15/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, New Long Loop, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 6″ (19 × 16 cm) 
6/9/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
7/15/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, New Long Loop, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
7/15/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, New Long Loop, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
6/9/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
6/1/2013 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 3½ × 3″ (8.6 × 8.4 cm) 
6/9/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Gentianales | Gentians, coffee, gardenias, frangipani, many others |
| Family | Rubiaceae | Coffee, madder, and bedstraw family |
| Genus | Galium | From Greek gala, “milk,” because some Galium species were used to curdle milk |
| Species | aparine | Means ‘cleavers’ |
Galium aparine description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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