Stellaria Media (Chickweed) Don't be too quick in wanting it gone

14 years ago

I've done a search, and have found post after post asking how to rid oneself of this wildflower.

Thought I might post some information that may change your mind about doing that.

http://herbalistpath.blogspot.com/2007/04/chickweed-itch-oil.html

"Chickweed is a very palatable plant & packed with nutrients including Vitamins B1, B2, B3, C & E, Calcium, essential fatty acids, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, silicon, sulfur, & zinc. You can eat it right there on the spot, or add it to your sandwich as a sprout replacement, or add it to your evening salad (Just make sure the area has not been sprayed with pesticides.)"

http://www.susunweed.com/weedforum/viewtopic.php?t=7256&highlight=chickweed

"MMMM. I love little chickweed! It seems to grow all the time, even in the snow. What a refreshing burst of green it gives you in the winter when nothing else seems fresh! A squeeze of lemon juice, some olive oil, and a little goat cheese and MMM. I adapted a recipe from Tosca's website where I warm an apple or pear in the oven sprinkled with goat cheese. I lay the chickweed down in a plate and hit it with some fresh lemon juice. I put the warmed pear and cheese mixture on the chickweed and finish it off with a sweet vinagrette, such as raspberry or a simple vinagrette made with wine vinegar, honey, and olive oil. A sprinkle of pomegranate seeds makes a nice garnish."

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Comments (10)

Iris GW
14 years ago
Stellaria media is a non-native invasive pest. Those of you that want to eat the ones that show up on your property are welcome to do so. I prefer to throw them in the rubbish ... you never know what might have pee'd on them.

On the other hand Stellaria pubera is a lovely native wildflower:
sencha
Original Author
14 years ago
Some quotes about chickweed:

"This small herb, often classed as a troublesome weed, is one of the supreme healers of the herbal kingdom and has given me wonderful results."
[Juliette Levy (1966)]

"The elixir of life..."
[Paracelsus (1530)]

Also, wanted to add that Chickweed (Stellaria Media) has a reputation as being a metabolic balancer, and having a regulatory effect on the thyroid. :-)
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Iris GW
14 years ago
While I appreciate your enthusiasm about Stellaria Media, it is not native to North America. This forum is for plants that are native to North America.

I certainly hope that researchers will take these things into consideration (although "elixir of life" is a bit grandiose) and find the cure to something in what is a troublesome weed for me.

How about finding a plant that is native to North America that you can rhapsodize about?
ncrescue
14 years ago
Last spring I took a class on edible and medicinal plants, thinking to help with ID of some more natives. Alas, most (but not all) of the plants featured were those brought over by the settlers, and the non-native chickweed was highly praised. However, I think I will have to look for a Native American Indian for my next venture on this topic. As for the native Stellaria, the one in the Piedmont clumps and the one in the mountains runs. Which is pubera and which is corei? Or are there other natives?
sam_md
14 years ago
Sencha,
Have you ever heard of Garlic Mustard? It was introduced by early settlers century for food and medicinal purposes.
Now it is one of the most noxious of weeds.
Beefsteak Plant or Perilla frutescens yields an oil used in flavoring Oriental foods. I have it on my property and it is a pernicious weed. Countless time, energy and money are spent each year ridding these weeds from home gardens, lawns and agricultural properties.
Do you want to promote Chickweed, since this is a native plant forum why not promote Cerastium arvense or Field Chickweed?
You have your fondness of Stellaria out of perspective. I see many acres of corn and soybean fields nuked every Spring to kill this Eurasian pest.
Sam
Iris GW
14 years ago
ncrescue, Stellaria pubera seems to be more prevalent and I think that is the one that we find in Georgia. It seems to be a clumper.

You can look at the USDA distribution page for Stellaria and see what you think of all the different ones. Scroll down to see a map for each one and then click on that map to take you to the individual profile page.

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA distribution page
sencha
Original Author
14 years ago
ncrescue: I have just begun using herbs to help with certain issues, and have eliminated 2 problems that plagued me for approximately 20 years.

If you are interested in this sort of thing, I have found the books by Susun Weed to be helpful in getting started on this.

For those who said it is not native to North America, I didn't realize that (& can't recall offhand if this info. was stated in any of the books I've read).

I won't post further about it here since it is not native to North America.
turbo_tpl
13 years ago
I hate this weed. My forest (six acres) is completely covered with a carpet of this stuff, and it chokes out nearly all native plants. About the only thing that competes is the similarly noxious garlic mustard.

The sooner they bring some biological control in to attack that stuff, the better.....
rita_from_mo
13 years ago
the fact is... this weed is both an healer and a pest.if we eat it .....ITS FOOD....for those of us that know what a wonderful weed it is for our bodys and our weed eating pets . we are ahead of the rest by $$$ ...bring it home and eat it..its not like you have to pay a dime for vitamens agin.and its right out side in your yard (most yards )...that is if you didn`t spend all your $$$ trying to kill it off.sry I had to put my 2c in ...native or not its here to stay . is that grass your trying to grow native ...is every thing in your yard you work so hard to grow native??? and matter of fact how many of us are true native americans .the few I have met that are 100% native stay and work on resavations ...that our forfathers so grachesly allowed them to live on ..and not all of it is even fit to plant a seed let alone good enough to feed a family or live stock...if they were so lucky to have stellaria media cover that baren land would be a blessing
SRY I DIDN`T MEAN TO GO ON SO ..BUT THE TRUTH HERTS
amelanchier
13 years ago
"is that grass your trying to grow native"

Yes, as a matter of fact.

Stellaria Media (Chickweed) Don't be too quick in wanting it gone

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