What Are Those Little Green Seeds That Stick To Your Clothes?

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If you often take walks through tall grass or hike forest trails, chances are you will return home with some hitchhikers clinging to your clothing, shoes or even your pet’s fur. 

Those little green seeds that stubbornly latch on to fabric are more than just a minor annoyance, they’re part of nature’s brilliant plan for survival and reproduction.

In this post, we’ll explore several of the clingy culprits, explain how they do it, and where you can expect to encounter them.

Hopefully, with a better understanding of this biological directive, the next time you’re picking those little green seeds off your socks, you’ll also take a moment to admire their ingenuity.

1. Cleavers (Galium aparine)

Cleavers seeds attach with stems, and the weed is commonly found in meadows, coniferous forests, and prairies
Cleavers seeds attach with stems, and the weed is commonly found in meadows, coniferous forests, and prairies. Image: Flickr/leonora
  • Local Name: Stickyweed, Sticky Willy, Catchweed Bedstraw, Velcro Plant
  • Family: Rubiaceae
  • Annual or Perennial: Annual

Stickyweed is an annual herbaceous plant with perfectly square stems and whorled leaves. 

It gets its name from the sticky hairs on the green seeds that cling to clothing and fur to disperse them over long distances. The species name ‘Aparine’ in Latin also appropriately means “to seize,” given its clingy nature. 

You’ll come across these sticky seeds in crop fields, meadows, prairies, coniferous forests, and abandoned fields. 

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It is native to:

  • Europe
  • Asia
  • North America

Removal Methods

  • Mechanical control: Hand-pulling or hoeing is an easy way to get rid of the plants. However since they break easily, ensure that you get the entire plants from the roots.
  • Chemical control: Apply the preemergence herbicide oryzalin to prevent cleaver growth. Postemergence herbicides containing 2,4-D, dicamba, and MCPA can provide fair control against established weeds.

2. Virginia Stickseed (Hackelia virginiana)

Virginia stickseed has tiny barbs that help the seeds stick to clothing
Virginia stickseed has tiny barbs that help the seeds stick to clothing. Image: mwflowers/peter.m.dziuk
  • Local Name: Beggar’s Lice, Sticktight
  • Family: Boraginaceae 
  • Annual or Perennial: Biennial

Virginia stickseed is a biennial plant with rough-textured leaves and small white flowers. 

The weed derives its name from the seed’s highly sticky nature. It produces burs with tiny barbs that stick to clothing and animal fur. They are so sticky that once they attach to your clothing, a stem can get plucked or the entire plant from the roots. 

Additionally, once attached, they are difficult to remove. Beggar’s lice plants are mostly found in deciduous forests and forest edges. 

It is native to:

  • Eastern Canada
  • Eastern and Midwestern United States

Removal Methods

  • Mechanical control: Pulling or digging out the plants from the roots is a viable control method for small infestations. Cutting down and multiple mowings are necessary for second-year plants and should be done during the flowering stage for effective control. 
  • Chemical control: Spot spray herbicide products containing triclopyr or glyphosate on small first year plants for the best results.
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3. Tick-Trefoil (Desmodium canadense)

Tick-Trefoil seeds have small hooks that help them stick to clothing and are very hard to remove
Tick-Trefoil seeds have small hooks that help them stick to clothing and are very hard to remove. Image: inaturalistforum/mmmmbugs
  • Local Name: Showy Ticktrefoil, Canada Tickclover, Canada Tick-Trefoil
  • Family: Fabaceae
  • Annual or Perennial: Perennial 

The Tick-Trefoil plant can be easily identified by its trifoliate leaves and pink to purple flowers.

What you may remember most are the segmented pods that break apart and use their small hooks that hold onto your clothing, and perhaps how long it took to remove the seeds.

You’ll encounter this perennial herb along trails, prairies, roadsides, and open woods. 

It is native to:

  • Eastern North America

Removal Methods

Mechanical control: Digging or hoeing can provide effective control for small infestations. Ensure you get the entire plant system to the roots to prevent regrowth.

4. Common Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium)

Cocklebur has short hooks that attach to clothing for dispersal
Cocklebur has short hooks that attach to clothing for dispersal. Image: redlist.parks.org
  • Local Name: Cocklebur, Donkey Burr, Rough Cocklebur, Clotbur, Woolgarie bur
  • Family: Asteraceae
  • Annual or Perennial: Annual 

Cocklebur is a summer annual plant 2-4 ft tall. The aggressive weed thrives in crop fields, roadsides, stream banks, and pastures. 

It produces seeds enclosed in green to yellow burs with short hooks that attach to clothing for dispersal. Once attached, they are not easy to remove and require stringent disposal to prevent spreading the invasive weed.

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It is native to:

  • Europe

Removal Methods

  • Mechanical control: Hoeing can provide effective control of small infestations. 
  • Chemical control: Herbicide application depends on the area and the crop in question. However, herbicides like imazapyr, dicamba, diclosulam, and glyphosate are commonly recommended for cocklebur control.