Lady’s bedstraw Galium verum

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Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum), goosegrass, cleavers (Galium aparine)

The young shoots of these herbs are also added to my salad, herbal butter and curd. Some of them are a real pest to gardeners during summer time, when one has to weed them out of vegetable beds. The more one eats out in spring, the less one has to weed out.

I take tops of the shoots. They have a pleasant, mild taste. 

The ones with yellow blossoms were used to produce Cheddar cheese. Because they cause milk to curdle and, because they add nice yellow colour. I guess that producers nowadays are using something else rather than collecting Lady’s bedstraw. But, who knows. May be there are ones producing cheese in the old way? 

It is called Lady’s bedstraw, because, they say, it was in the hay in the manger at Bethlehem. 

People used to put in wardrobes against moths and in beds against fleas. I will collect some for my wardrobes. It has a very nice smell of freshly cut hay. 

Medicinally they seem to be used for kidney and urinary disorders and for much more.

Well, I simply add the shoots to my salad or just have one or two on the way when I pass

a plant or when I work in my garden and allow my body to decide itself for which organs it can be used 😉

Do you use Galium? And how? I have read, that the blossoms are a natural yellow colour and the roots are a natural red colour. Has anybody used Lady’s bedstraw dyeing cotton or linen or silk?

ltwickey

Thank you for the post. I have seen this sprouting up all over on my hikes up here in CT, but had no idea what it was. Now I will go and harvest some on my next hike!