A reader from Sligo puts in a gentle reminder cum rebuke that in an item on cleavers or cleevers (anyway galium aparine), the most expressive of its names was left out: robin run the hedge. Yes, indeed. Let us go over the fullest list available which, in this case, is in A Modern Herbal by Mrs M. Grieve: The Medical, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties', Cultivation and Folklore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs and Trees with all their modern Scientific Uses.
It's a vast Penguin of over 900 pages. And here is her list of synonyms for what she calls clivers: Cleavers, Goosegrass, Barweed, Hedgeheriffs, Eriffe, Grip Grass, Hayruff, Catchweed, Scratweed, Mutton Chops, Robin run in the grass, Love man, Goosebill, Everlasting Friendship. As to habitat, the book gives: "It is abundant as a hedgerow weed, not only throughout Europe, but also in North America, springing up luxuriantly about fields and waste places." And, notice: in England, apparently the term run the hedge is substituted by run the grass.
And three more names are given for the plant in Discovering Hedgerows by David Streeter and Rosamond Richardson, a BBC publication of 1982. These are: "Sticky Billy"; "kiss me quick" and "gosling scrotch." That sounds a bit uncouth.
It is described in the latter book as a plant that insists on coming with you, for with its hairy stems and leaves clinging to your clothes and to the fur of animals, it is making a mighty effort to disperse its seeds. The same seeds are a joy to young children, for thrown at their companions, preferably in the classroom, they stick to clothing and get entangled in the hair.
And the plant was good for feeding up geese, according to the scripes, and for building up in them immunity to disease. Without disrespect to Culpeper and the other old, herbalists or apothecaries, there were few plants that didn't serve some purpose. "And the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations."
Against the bites of snakes, to make women slim, what did this herb not do. It's still around in bundles. Don't consume it in any shape or form.