One of my favorite little herbs is cleavers. Cleavers are named for their ability to stick to you or anything else that meanders on by too closely to the plant. They will cleave to you!! This trait helps to make them so easy to identify. Cleavers give off a smell similar to honey. These wild edibles and wonderfully medicinal plants offer a packed filled powerful jolt of health to our bodies.
Harvesting cleavers varies as to what your main purpose for harvest is. If you are going to make an amazing health packed soup using cleavers, it is best to harvest when the plant is young. This would be in early spring. It is important to note here that when cleavers are used in soups, it is highly effective in encouraging weight loss. This is perfectly timed in early spring when I am so ready for such things to occur.
If you are going to make a tincture or dry the herb for medicinal purposes it is best to harvest when the plant is beginning to flower. Typically, the cleaver plant will flower anytime from May to September. If you harvest the plant early by cutting it ¾ the way down, it will regrow. This makes it quite convenient to make healthy soups early on and then harvest for the medicinal value later towards mid-summer.
A really cool thing about cleavers is that its seed can be harvested and lightly roasted to make an excellent coffee replacement. The taste is quite similar to coffee. Cleavers root can be used as a red dye.
Cleavers are known for their ability to help the lymphatic system. They are also good for our kidneys and help eliminate water retention. This clever little herb can even help to treat kidney stones. It also has quite the reputation for curing all types of skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, abscesses and boils. Cleavers has been known to help bring down high blood pressure and can be used as a sleep aid to conquer insomnia.
Finally, this very cool herb can be used as a hair and skin rinse. This rinse will help your skin significantly tighten after just two weeks of regular use. It is also known for its ability to help your hair grow long!!
Now for the science of my favorite little plant
The Cleavers plant contains organic acids, flavonoids, tannins, fatty acids, glycoside asperuloside, gallotannic acid and citric acid.
The aerial parts of cleavers are used in various forms – tincture, infusion, juice, cream, compress as well as a hair rinse.
JUICE: The fresh cleavers plant needs to be liquidized or turned into a pulp in a blender or food processor to prepare a useful diuretic and cleanser for the lymph glands to treat an assortment of health conditions, counting tonsillitis, glandular fever as well as prostate complaints.
INFUSION: The infusion prepared from cleavers is usually less potent compared to the juice extracted from this herb. This infusion is employed to treat urinary complaints like gravel and cystitis. It may also be drunk in the form of a cooling drink when one is suffering from fevers.
TINCTURE: The tincture prepared from cleavers may also be used for treating the health conditions for which its infusion is effective. COMPRESS: The aerial parts of cleavers may also be used in the form of a compress to treat burn injuries, ulcers, grazes as well as various skin inflammations. To prepare the compress, you need to drench a pad in the infusion prepared from the herb and apply it onto the affected areas.
CREAM: In addition, the aerial parts of the herb may be employed to prepare a cream which may be applied topically to treat psoriasis.
HAIR RINSE: The infusion prepared from cleavers may be employed to treat dandruff and/ or problems related to scalp scaling. For best results, regularly wash your hair and scalp with the infusion.
https://elmaskincare.com/herbs/herbs_cleavers.htm