Plant of the Month: Sticky Weed

Presented by Rowena McDermid
February 12, 2024

Botanical name: Galium aparine
Common name(s): Sticky Weed, Sticky Willy, Sticky Grass, Goosegrass, Catchweed Bedstraw, Cleavers, others
Family: Rubiaceae

[MUSIC—EASY AND FUN]

[Rowena] Hello, everyone. Plant of the month this month is Galium aparine, otherwise known as Sticky Weed. It might only be February, but with the warm weather this weed has been growing gang busters in my garden. It has many common names I usually refer to it as Sticky Weed, but it’s also known as Stick Willy, Sticky Grass, Goosegrass, Bedstraw, Cleavers, among many others.

Sticky Weed is an annual of the Rubiaceae family. It creeps along with straggling stems which branch and grow along the ground and over other plants. They attach themselves with small, hooked hairs that grow along the leaves and the stems. The stems are angular or square in shape and can reach up to three feet long. The leaves are simple and are borne in whirls of six to eight. The flowers are small, four petaled, and are greenish white in color. The flowers are clustered in two or three and grow from the leaf axles. The fruits are burrs which grow one to three seeds clustered together. They’re also covered in hooked hairs which cling to animal fur and human clothing and this of course aids in seed dispersal.

So, is it a wildflower or a weed? Well, some people say that weeds are just wildflowers that are growing where you don’t want them, but I definitely consider this a weed. Galium aparine is widely distributed across Europe and North America. There is debate about whether it is native to North America but most sources state that it is. In some states it is classified as a noxious weed and the seed is restricted or prohibited in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont. In the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, there is zero tolerance for Sticky Weed in crop seeds. However, it does have wildlife uses. It is eaten by birds and mammals, for example deer and rabbits, and is also used by many insects, including aphids and spittlebugs.

Fortunately, Sticky Weed can be controlled either by hoeing or hand pulling or a combination of the two. Some sources mention mulching as a good way to control it. It will die back as the weather warms up, but it’s important to remove it before it flowers and sets seeds because if it does that then it’ll come back even worse the following year. On sensitive skin it will cause tiny scratches that resemble a rash.

Sticky Weed is edible, especially if it’s picked before it sets seed, though it’s not palatable raw. It does need to be cooked. It’s been eaten in soups and stews. Young shoots can be cooked and eaten buttered, just like any other spring vegetable. And, I’ve even seen mention of it being used in a smoothie. The fruits can be dried and roasted to make a coffee-like drink. And, it also has medicinal uses — as a tea or a tincture for urinary health and as a topical treatment for skin infections and eczema.

So, most of the photographs in this presentation were taken from my own garden, although I did take some from Etsy for the tincture. My references included Wikipedia, USDA.gov database, Wildflower.org, Brooklyn Botanic Garden Weed of the Month blog, and also a UK site, eatweeds.co.uk.

Thank you.

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