Introduction

Cleavers are annuals with creeping straggling stems which branch and grow along the ground and over other plants. They attach themselves with the small hooked hairs which grow out of the stems and leaves. The stems can reach up to three feet or longer, and are angular or square shaped.The leaves are simple, narrowly oblanceolate to linear, and borne in whorls of six to eight.

Cleavers have tiny, star-shaped, white to greenish flowers, which emerge from early spring to summer. The flowers are clustered in groups of two or three, and are borne out of the leaf axils.The globular fruits are burrs which grow 1-3 seeds clustered together; they are covered with hooked hairs which cling to animal fur, aiding in seed dispersal.

Function

As a tea, the plant acts as a diuretic and lymphatic.[verification needed][medical citation needed] As a lymphatic tonic, it is used in a wide range of problems involving the lymph system, such as swollen glands (e.g. tonsillitis).

Poultices and washes made from cleavers were traditionally used to treat a variety of skin ailments, light wounds and burns.As a pulp, it has been used to relieve poisonous bites and stings.To make a poultice, the entire plant is used, and applied directly to the affected area.

The asperuloside in cleavers acts as a mild sedative, and one study showed that cleaver extract lowers the blood pressure of dogs, without slowing their heart rate, or any other dangerous side effects.[citation needed] Ethnobotanist James A. Duke recommends a dosage of one ounce of dried leaves to a pint of water, 1 to 2 teaspoons of tincture, or 2 to 4 grams of the dried herb in a cup of boiling water, three times daily.