I
have just been for a little walk down the garden. What a surprise.
There is cleavers everywhere. (aka, Latin
name: Galium aparine beggar lice, clithe, cliver, cliders, goose grass, goosebill, hariff,
gripgrass, catchweed ) If you have never come across it before, or the name/s
don’t ring a bell, well it sticks like crazy to everything, and the seed pods
get all tangled up in the cat’s fur and chickens feathers and my legs!
Any way, there it is! It
has gone wild, and, I don’t know about you, but when I see such an exuberance
of supply, I think about what I can use it for, and, why it’s there. Well the why is partly because I obviously
didn’t weed efficiently, but also it is a very good lymphatic cleaner, and
after the cold I have just had I can do with some of that. I find nature always provides what we need.
It is a very good diuretic,
and soothing in conditions such as cystitis and other uti’s. Care has to be
taken if there is an existing health condition such as with the heart or diabetes,
where it could affect sugars.
It is a fantastic topical
herb, which means it can be used to great effect on the skin. I make a macerated oil with it, and then use
it for dry psoriasis and eczema. It is also good made as you would a tea, then
used in the last rinse if you suffer with dandruff. If your scalp can have a tendency to
soreness, it is very kind and reduces the inflammation and heals the cause. There is some research being undertaken now
to see if its alleged positive effects on cancer can be replicated, but nothing
is out yet. I do know it is very good on
skin ulcers though from personal experience.
Animals can and do eat
it and you can also eat it. Now some
people say you can eat it raw, but I would suggest that those people might also
like to try Velcro. It is rough! But, when you cook it in a little water the
rough hooks go and it becomes a tasty spinach substitute. I like it lightly cooked with a little parmesan
cheese on top, great as a nutritional addition to a bolognaise? Yes, it can
form one of the ingredients for a home-made pesto. It is very nutritious, especially if you pick
the tasty, young tips. You can use it
like spinach or, add it to soups and stews, with onions and garlic and other
tasty vegetables for its nutritional value.
Its taste is rather bland, so will take up other flavours well and not
scare the kids away too easily. Good for
the tummy and the budget, it is free after all.
However, don’t try to eat it from midsummer on as it is just like straw,
sticky straw at that!
Mrs Grieve mentions
cleavers in one of her recipes for a herbal beer. I have tried it and it is
lovely and refreshing. Here it is.
Take 2 gallons of cold water and a
good pailful of washed young Nettle tops, add 3 or 4 large handsful of
Dandelion, the same of Clivers (Cleavers) and 2 oz. Of bruised, whole ginger.
Boil gently for 40 minutes, then strain and stir in 2 teacupsful of brown
sugar. When lukewarm place on the top a slice of toasted bread, spread with 1
oz. of compressed yeast, stirred till liquid with a teaspoonful of sugar. Keep
it fairly warm for 6 or 7 hours, then remove the scum and stir in a
tablespoonful of cream of tartar. Bottle and tie the corks securely. The result
is a specially wholesome sort of ginger beer. The juice Of 2 lemons may be
substituted for the Dandelion and Clivers. Other herbs are often added to
Nettles in the making of Herb Beer, such as Burdock, Meadowsweet, Avens
Horehound, the combination making a refreshing summer drink. http://rosenlake.net/er/Grieves_HerbBeers.html
If you want to take the
time, collect and dry the seeds, grind them and use them as a substitute for
coffee…. Well I don’t have that amount
of time…. But you never know when that bit of information may come in
useful.
Disclaimer: This information is not to replace a visit to
your G.P or alternative health practitioner if you have a health concern.
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