Galium aparine: use, properties, and tradition

Galium aparine is a small yet resilient plant that thrives effortlessly. It’s frequently found in uncultivated fields and is easily identifiable by its rough hairs covering all parts, earning it the monikers “catchweed” or “velcro plant.”

This plant boasts a rich history in folk medicine, used both externally and internally to address ulcers, wounds, and skin issues.

The name “Galium” originates from the Greek word ‘gála,’ meaning “milk,” highlighting the plant’s ability to coagulate milk due to the presence of the enzyme phytochinese. “Aparine,” derived from the Greek ‘Aparein,’ means “to cling,” referring to the plant’s capacity to attach itself, thanks to the hooked hairs covering it, to clothing and animal fur.

Galium aparine is an annual herbaceous plant, either ascending or creeping, belonging to the Rubiaceae family. Its stems are rough, adorned with small hooks. The leaves form pseudo whorls of 4-12, partly true leaves and partly modified stipules resembling them. The small white flowers, also equipped with tiny hooks, are hermaphroditic and arranged in axillary clusters.

Harvesting is recommended in spring or early summer, just before the flowering period.

Active ingredients: glycosides (galiosin), tannins, flavonoids, vit. C.

Indications: antispasmodic, mildly diuretic, astringent, vulnerary, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory, and sudorific. Other uses include digestive system disorders, skin conditions, and painful manifestations, especially of a nervous nature. It effectively acts on the lymphatic system, serving as a diuretic that promotes increased urine flow, aiding in the removal of waste substances from the kidneys and bladder, preventing urinary tract infections (such as cystitis), and alleviating prostate issues.

The plant can be used both fresh and dried.

The fruits serve as a coffee substitute (caffeine-free), while the roasted root replaces chicory and yields a red dye.

Flavor: bitter, pungent.

Galium aparine T.M. (Mother Tincture): recommended for draining the lymphatic system, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and spleen. (Clinical Gemmotherapy Compendium by F. Piterà)

Traditional uses: healing compresses made from flower and leaf decoction were applied to wounds and sores. The juice was used for curdling milk, and interwoven stems acted as filters. The root was used to dye wool red-orange, and roasted seeds were used to prepare beverages, with young leaves and tops as a vegetable.

Dioscorides, a Greek physician of the 1st century AD, considered it useful as a remedy for tiredness and wrote that shepherds used the stems to make sieves to filter milk. Mattioli (1559), a Sienese physician, attributed to it diuretic properties and calming properties for ear pain. He also suggested the use of the juice of the fruits and leaves against the bites of vipers and scorpions. In folk medicine, fresh juice or a poultice of crushed fresh leaves, applied to a wound or ulcer, were used to stop bleeding, inhibit necrosis and promote healing.

GIULIA CALDARELLI