Cleavers Project

Galium Aparine – goosegrass, sticky willy, catchweed, grip grass, sticky weed, cleavers, soldier’s buttons, sweethearts, sticky bud, velcro plant

This is an on-going project which will culminate in an exhibition of vessels made from cleavers, either containing or helping spread them. Here are some visual snippets from the project so far.

Cleavers cleave, they stick, attach, hold on, and in the process spread their one-thousand(ish) seeds per plant across the landscape. Having made ‘coffee’ and numerous desserts from cleavers (see my Wild and Sweet cookbook), this project is about weaving with them. Weaving a story even, a tale that tells of the virtues of this humble plant, that celebrates its multiple qualities.

The dried stems of cleavers used to be used as stuffing to fill mattresses, and also have fantastic long fibres for weaving. I have no evidence of any previous weaving of cleavers for pots or cordage, neither current day or in the past. However because plants are biodegradable, this does not mean it hasn’t happened.

Cleavers are native to Europe, North Africa, Russia and areas of the Middle East, and actually the range of this species is from Macaronesia to Temp. Eurasia (KEW Plants of the World). It has also been introduced to the Americas (north and south), Australasia and far beyond.

Want to learn how to make cordage (string) from plants?

I run short workshops on Wild Cordage Making and How to Make a Bowl or Pot from Plants.