Galium aparine is a distinctive herbaceous annual weed with a number of common names including cleavers, bedstraw, catchweed bedstraw, grip grass, stickywilly, and others.

Galium aparine is commonly referred to as cleavers, goosegrass, catchweed, sticky willy or bedstraw, among other names. Sticky weed is an annual plant that belongs to the Rubiaceae family. It is native to North America, Europe, and Asia but has spread to other parts of the world.

Dec 12, 2022 · Catchweed bedstraw (Galium aparine) is an annual that can form dense mats of vegetation. Bedstraw grows in landscape beds, on top of turf that is not mowed, fields and along the woodline. It prefers shade to partial shade and …

Mar 17, 2025 · Getting the Best of Catchweed Bedstraw Also known as cleavers, grip grass, Velcro plant, sticky weed, sticky willy, and scratch grass, this sticky weed appears in Pennsylvania gardens in spring and fall.

Upper right: Catchweed bedstraw prickles on stem and fruit (Anurag Agrawal, Cornell University). Bottom: Catchweed bedstraw leaves (Scott Morris, Cornell University). Identification. Other common names: Catchweed bedstraw: cleavers, goose grass, spring-cleavers, scratch-grass, grip-grass, catch-weed, bedstraw, white hedge, valiant's cleavers

Bedstraw seeds, which have hooked hairs to aid dispersal, can remain viable in the soil for up to three years. Catchweed bedstraw is most productive in clay and loamy soils with high nitrogen and phosphorus.

Cleavers Bedstraw (Galium aparine), is a herbaceous weed that we may be familiar with from childhood. It’s other common names include catchweed, stickyweed and grip grass, to name but a few. These names hint at its ability to grasp onto and stick to things. From the the long socks of a hiker, the wool of a sheep, to the back of your friends ...

It can be found in coniferous forests, deciduous woodlands, meadows, prairies, flood plains, disturbed areas, abandoned fields, and cultivated crops. In the southeast, it is typically found in riparian and floodplain forests. In some areas it can grow in the winter, acting more like a biennial.

Jun 22, 2024 · Catchweed bedstraw is a weakly erect to sprawling plant from a slender taproot. Stems are weak, climbing or twining to over six feet in length. The stems are square in cross-section with short, downward-pointing bristles along the ridges.

Other Names: Catchweed, bedstraw, goose-grass, grip-grass, catch-grass. General Description: A semi-prostrate annual covered with short prickly hairs. Seedlings: Hypocotyls are smooth, stout, and greenish purple. Cotyledons are egg-shaped on prominent petioles. Upper surface has short rough, short hairs.