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Cleavers (Galium aparine)

Cleavers is an introduced, fast-growing annual weed recorded in Australian crops, gardens, roadsides and some native vegetation. Its scrambling stems can form dense tangles that compete with crops, interfere with harvesting and smother vegetation.

Key facts

Type: Weed, herb.

Native to: Europe to central Asia.

Established in: QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA.

Other names: Goosegrass, Bedstraw, Stickywilly, Velcro Plant.

Best time to act: Look for it after autumn germination and treat young plants before seed set; peak flowering and fruiting occurs from October to January.

Identification

  • It is a scrambling or climbing annual herb with weak, branched, four-angled stems that can grow up to 1.5 metres long.
  • The stems have backward-pointing hooked hairs, and six to nine stalkless leaves grow in rings around them.
  • The leaves are mostly 10–70 mm long and 2–10 mm wide, with hooked hairs on their upper surfaces and edges.
  • Small white flowers grow in loose clusters, and the paired, spherical fruits are 2–4 mm long and covered in short hooked bristles.
  • Look-alike: Galium spurium has yellow or yellow-green flowers rather than white ones and lacks the ring of fine hairs around the stems at the leaf bases.
  • Look-alike: Galium tricornutum lacks hairs on the upper leaf surfaces and on the fruit.

Where it grows

In Australia it occurs across much of the east, including disturbed areas, gardens, crops, roadside ditches and riparian areas, with scattered records in South Australia and a few areas of Western Australia.

Why it matters

  • It forms dense, tangled growth in crops, along fence lines and on waste land.
  • In cereals it can reduce yields, interfere with harvesting, cause lodging and sometimes smother the crop.
  • Its seed is difficult to separate from canola during seed cleaning.
  • It has been regarded as an environmental weed, and in Victoria has been described as a very serious threat to one or more vegetation formations.

How it spreads

  • It germinates in autumn and spreads by seed, which can be dispersed by wind, water, on the plant, and by people or animals.
  • Hooked bristles on stems, leaves and fruits cling to clothing and animal fur, helping move the plant to new sites.
  • Seeds can survive in soil for up to three years, and have also been recorded as a contaminant in canola seed.

Control options

  • Hand-pull small infestations while plants are young and before seed set; their weak roots make them easy to remove.
  • Registered herbicides can be used for larger infestations; choose an appropriate product and follow its label.
  • Consult the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority for chemical information.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Check and clean clothing, boots and gear after working among cleavers, as its hooked bristles readily cling to them.
  • Avoid moving seed-contaminated crop seed to new sites.
  • Inspect and clean vehicles, plant and footwear before leaving an infested area, paying attention to tyres, radiators, belly plates, tracks and floor mats.
  • Wash down at a designated bay where runoff is contained and can be monitored for seedlings.
  • Record each washdown so the client has evidence of clean entry and exit.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Prohibited matter. It is an offence to deal with it, and you must notify NSW DPIRD as soon as you become aware of it.
  • Victoria: Not declared. Not declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Other Victorian laws may still apply.
  • South Australia: Not declared. Not declared under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. Other laws may still apply.
  • Western Australia: Declared pest (no control category). Declared pest in WA without a control category, so there is no state-wide control requirement, but movement and keeping rules can still apply.
  • Tasmania: Declared weed. Property managers are required by law to control declared weeds, and their import and sale are prohibited.
  • Northern Territory: Not declared. Not on the NT A to Z weed list, and Weeds Australia does not list it as declared in the NT. Check the NT declared weeds list before moving or planting it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Not declared. Not declared under the Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT). A general biosecurity duty still applies.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • Tasmania: Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas), administered by Biosecurity Tasmania
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Western Australia: Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (WA), administered by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Sources