Chickweed was @SpeciesofUK from 28th
October to 3rd November, 2013.
Common chickweed, Stellaria media,
is one of the UK's commonest weeds.
 |
| Chickweed [Flickr Creative Commons © David Illig] |
It is an ephemeral species requiring only around thirteen weeks to
flower and set seed. It can appear throughout the year.[1]
Chickweed isn’t the only plant called
chickweed.
The Stellaria genus contains
about 120 species in all, including chickweed and also stitchwort. The genus belongs
to the same family as sea campion and soapwort.[2]
The name ‘chickweed’ is most often used to describe common chickweed, Stellaria media, but it is also the
common name for a number of its related species such as Ageratum conyzoides, Cerastium,
Holosteum, Moenchia and Paronychia.[3]
The origin of the word chickweed is very simple. It's a weed that is
eaten by chickens! The first recorded use is from the 1300s, 'chiken wede.'[4]
Chickens love chickweed because it grows accessibly around their feet
during winter and it's packed full of potassium, phosphorus, and manganese.[5]
Chickweed is also a key food source for the larvae of the Yellow Shell
moth.[6]
Chickweed is widespread in both North America and Europe. It thrives in
fields, gardens, waste ground and footpaths.[7]
 |
| Chickweed Growing Out of a Footpath [Flickr Creative Commons © Vietnam Plants & The USA. plants] |
Chickweed has very slender, but tenacious roots.[8] The stems are round and
somewhat brittle, with one or two lines of hair.
The growing stems quickly branch and spread, enabling the plant to form
distinctive bright mounds of new growth almost anywhere, if conditions are
favourable.[9]
It is highly variable in form.
Chickweed can be very low-lying, forming dense domed mats, or erect up
to about 40cm tall. The petal size varies a lot too.[10]
Chickweed leaves are stalked, oval, pointed and hairless (though the
leaf stalk is sometimes whiskered). Upper leaves however are usually unstalked.[11]
Chickweed flowers appear in the axils of green bracts. The five white
petals are divided almost to their base, and are slightly shorter than the
sepals.[12]
The flowers have three styles and most often three stamens too, although
they can have up to ten stamens. They flower throughout the year.[13]
 |
| Chickweed Flower with Three Stamens [Flickr Creative Commons © --Tico--] |
 |
| Chickweed Flower with Nine Stamens [Flickr Creative Commons © klugi] |
The chickweed fruit is a capsule, which opens with six teeth about a
third of the capsule's length.[14] A single chickweed plant
may produce around 2,500 reddish-brown seeds, which can remain viable in the soil
for twenty-five to forty years.[15]
Chickweed has had a variety of herbal
and food uses.
The leaves and tops of chickweed can be harvested and used as a herb.[16]
Active ingredients in chickweed are saponin, vitamins A, B, C and D,
calcium, phosphorus, copper and potassium.[17] Saponins can be poisonous
but only if large quantities are consumed.[18]
Chickweed has traditionally been used as an emollient for skin for
eczema, psoriasis, ulcers, boils, and abscesses. It's ground into a poultice.[19]
It is also used as a 'demulcent' (forming a soothing film over mucous
membrane) for rheumatic and respiratory conditions or coughs.[20] Others plants used as
demulcents include dead nettle, liquorice and wild parsley.[21]
Some people use chickweed in salad or as a soup garnish. It was one of
the Victorian's favourite salad items.[22]
On 7 January each year, the Japanese traditionally eat ‘Seven Herb Rice
Porridge.’ One of the seven herbs used is chickweed.[23]
Strange but true…
The lines of hairs that grow on the chickweed always migrate precisely
90 degrees round at each internode of the stem.[24]
[1] http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile
[2] http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellaria_media
[4] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chickweed
[5] http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Chickweed_is_a_winter_pick-me-up_for_chickens/
[6] http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=1742)
[7] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe
[8] http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile
[9] http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile
[10] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe; http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile
[11] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe
[12] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe
[13] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe
[14] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe
[15] http://www.arkive.org/common-chickweed/stellaria-media/
[16] http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile
[17] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe; http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile
[18] http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Stellaria+media
[19] http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile;
http://wildernesssurvivaltechniques.com/foraging-for-chickweed/
[20] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellaria_media
[21] http://wildernesssurvivaltechniques.com/foraging-for-chickweed/
[22] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe;
http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/foraging-wild-food-and-medicinal-plants-chickweed-plant-profile
[23] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanakusa-no-sekku
[24] Collins Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe
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