Medicinal Herb Post #9 written June 7, 2018
Cleavers – Galium aparine
The study of this annual is where the idea for velcro came from. It likes to cling to everything it grows near. It grows wild in the mountains and just about everywhere else. Harvest the plant before it goes to seed, but leave some so you’ll have more the following year. Sweet Woodruff is a cousin of cleavers and has similar properties.
The list of cleavers is versatile for all that it can do! It is one of few liver restoratives that actually help protect, tone and strengthen it, along with milk thistle. It’s an alterative which means it is deeply nourishing and helps the body do what it needs to do by giving it the nutrition it craves. It can be useful for breaking up stones in the gall bladder and urinary tract. And it is one of the best plants for clearing and cleansing the lymphatic system.
A great formula for cleansing the lymphatic system is to use equal parts burdock, red clover, calendula, cleavers and chickweed. Drink as a tea, use in capsules or make a tincture.
Combine any of the following herbs concerning liver issues from jaundice to eczema and other skin problems. Why skin problems you might ask? Well, when our liver is working really hard all the time and its load is burdened by too many environmental pollutants or poor food choices, the liver sends what it can’t deal with to the skin. Support the liver and a lot of other problems go away. Here are the herbs… dandelion, cleavers, milk thistle, Oregon grape, burdock, yellow dock, red clover and nettles. Take them in any form you’d like.
