catchweed bedstraw

Photo by Richard Old | www.xidservices.com

catchweed bedstraw

Galium aparine

Weed Characteristics

Other Names: bedstraw, cleavers, cleaverwort, scarthgrass, white hedge, goose grass, grip grass, Velcro plant, sticky weed, sticky willy, and scratch grass

Leaf Type: Broadleaf

Flowers: White, green

Leaves: Oval smooth leaves with dense hair on top

Life Cycle: Annual

Lank stems up to 4 ft long sprawl on the ground and on other plants. Six to eight leaves are borne in whorls around the stem. Leaves and stems are covered with fine hairs that "stick" to clothes. Tiny flowers form at the leaf nodes. Seeds are also covered with hooked hairs that cling to animal fur.