Why I’m just wild about ‘sticky willies’ and their many benefits

Fiann Ó Nualláin gets to grips with the fascinating backstory of the Cleaver ‘sticky back’ weed

I am having a bumper harvest of cleavers this year. Okay, I know the majority of gardeners view it as a weed and so ‘harvest’ sounds plain wrong — but I don’t think of it as a weed. It’s not quite a crop but it is useful to how I garden — which is to be chemical-free and to reap the benefits of every plant that finds its way in. Cleavers (Galium aparine) is one of the weeds I welcome, for its horticultural and medicinal benefits and its story too.

Plants, even the ones we often dismiss as weeds, have fascinating backstories. Cleavers get their common name for their reputation to cleave to — as their hairy stem and fuzzy seed structure does adhere easily to passers-by — so their stems and seed may stick to your clothes or the fur of your pet and make their way back from a walk, right into your garden. What a cool way to disperse the next generation — hitchhike. A sneaky trait, but you’ve got to admire efficiency and tenacity.