Galium aparine, Galium verum.
Botanical name:
Galium aparine Linn. Rubiaceae. Bedstraw. Bur-Weed. Catch-Weed. Cleavers. Goose Grass.
Northern climates. The seeds form one of the best of the substitutes for coffee, according to Johnson, and are so used in Sweden. The dried plant is sometimes used as a tea.
Galium verum Linn. Cheese Rennet. Hundred-Fold. Yellow Bedstraw.
Europe; naturalized in eastern North America. Yellow bedstraw has been used in some parts of England to curdle milk. In Gerarde's time, this plant was used to color the best Cheshire cheese. According to Ray, the flowering tops, distilled with water, yield an acid liquor which forms a pleasant summer drink.
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.
