CHICKWEED
Stellaria Media
(Stellaria=little star, Media=in the midst of)
Ok! It is time again to talk about some of my favorite herbs. Missed my post on
DANDELIONS? Check it out under
USEFUL BACKYARD PLANTS PART ONE. I have picked chickweed because this is the time of the year when it is at it's best and it is just a wonderful plant! Chickweed is a backyard, front yard, under trees, and under bushes plant. Chickweed loves loves to grow in places that are cool, damp and shady. This is a tiny plant that glows low to the ground and is easily missed if you don't look closely. It is a little harder to identify that dandelions but once you know what you are looking for you will start to see them everywhere!
Chickweed is best identified by:
"Many very small starry white flowers, with five petals so deeply divided they appear to be ten petals; growing in low, dense, vibrant-green mats; single line of hairs on smooth stalk."
p. 115 Healing Wise by Susun Weed
I love chickweed because it is all ready to eat. You just reach down and grab a handful and eat it! The leaves, flowers, and stalks are the parts that can be used. You can put this plant in a great summer salad, make a healing salve and much more...! I make an oil, that I use in my
LIP BALMS from fresh chickweed infused in olive oil. This oil has the wonderful ability to heal skin irritations and draw out inflammation.
SOME USES
Cooling
This plants love of the cool and shady gives you a clue as to one of its many uses. It is extremely helpful at cooling things down! Susun Weed explains that for "Those with fevers, infections, inflammations, all sorts of "hot" diseases are relieved, tempered and chilled by the little star lady." (Healing Wise p. 121)
One of the best and fastest ways to use chickweed to take the inflammation out of summer bug bites, or bee stings is to use a spit poultice. Thats right! A spit poultice. It is exactly what it sounds like. You basically take some fresh chickweed, put it into you mouth, chew it up a little, take it out of you mouth, and apply it to the bite. If you are in the woods and are stung by a bee this will come in very handy. You would just apply a lot of little spit poultices as fast as possible to the affected area.
Eye Healer
"Chickweed also has an excellent reputation for aiding those dealing with eye problems including infections, sties, conjunctivitis (pink eye), and tired, sore, inflamed, irritated eyes...." (Opening our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs p.91)
A Treatment for Pink Eye
1 quart glass mason jar
1 cup dry chickweed leaf
sea salt
cotton balls
hot water
Fill the mason jar with the dry chickweed and cover all the way to the top with water that you have brought to a boil on the stove. Cap the jar and leave overnight. The next morning strain out the herbs (you may need to use a fine mesh strainer for this) and put the remaining liquid (now infused with the herbs) into a pot on the stove. Add some sea salt and heat. Heat until just warm enough to be hot but not too hot as to be uncomfortable to an eye. Dip cotton ball into warm water and bathe the effected eye(s) with it. Repeat as needed. This is a very pleasant treatment for an rather uncomfortable condition. If after a day or two and no improvement is seen or if the condition has become worst please see your local doctor.
Helps with Infections
"Try it when you want to bring a boil or pimple to a head, dry up herpes blisters, clean an infected wound, or extract a splinter. Applied as a poultice, chickweed stops infection by weakening bacteria cell walls. To use fresh chickweed as a poultice, simply apply the bruised leaves directly, covering the plant matter with a thin layer of gauze or a cabbage leaf. When the plant material gets warm, remove and discard it. Poultice again with fresh chickweed as necessary."(Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs p.91)
Note on wildcrafting chickweed: Make sure to pick your chickweed 50 feet or more from any road and that has not been sprayed by any herbicides or pesticides! Please make sure to correctly identify any plants that you find and if you are unsure ask your local herbalist for assistance!!
CHICKWEED KITCHEN
Tasty (sometimes a little wacky but always fun) recipes for the book Healing Wise by Susun Weed!
Mild Curried Chickweed
serves 4
***
3 tablespoons/ 45 ml olive oil
1 tsp/5 ml cumin seeds
2 tsp/10 ml mustard seeds
1 teaspoon/5 ml turmeric
4 c/ 1 liter fresh chickweed
1 Tbs/15 ml lemon juice
1 tablespoon/ 15 ml tamari
Heat oil in cast iron pan. Add seeds,stir and cook two minutes. Stir in turmeric and cook another minute. Turn off heat. Add chopped chickweed, lemon juice and tamari. Stir well and serve immediately.
Preparation time: 20 minutes: 5 to pick chickweed, 5 to assemble spices, and 10 to cook. Great with basmati rice and yogurt soup on a warm spring evening.
Think Spring Salad
serves 8
***
4 c/1 liter fresh chickweed
2 c/500 ml fresh watercress
1 c/250 ml fresh flowers (e.g., violets, columbines)
2 tablespoons/30 ml chives
Be careful when you harvest the greens. Leave roots and dirt in the stream and garden; then greens won't need to be washed. Don't wash flowers under any circumstances. Snip chives finely; mix all together. Serve immediately.
Preparation time: 3 hours: 1 hour to walk to the stream and pick watercress; 1 hour to visit with the fairies and pick flowers; 15 minutes to harvest chickweed; 15 minutes to mince chives and fix salad and dressing; 15 minutes to tear greens and decorate salad.
Bacon, Chickweed, and Tomato Sandwich
serves 2
***
4 slices wholemeal toast
1 Tbs/ 15 ml mayonnaise
1 Tbs/ 15 ml yogurt
1 ripe tomato
3 slices fried bacon
1 c/250 ml fresh chickweed
Combine mayo and yogurt so you won't worry so much about the bacon. Put thick slices of tomato on the mayogurt-spread bread. Add a handful of chopped chickweed, then the bacon. And the last piece of bread. Grin, and bite!
Preparation time: 20-30 minutes, depending on whether or not you can fry bacon, toast bread, and pick chickweed all at the same time. A well-deserved treat on fine fall days.
Chickweed Pesto
***
1 c/ 250 ml fresh chickweed
1 cup/ 250 ml fresh basil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup/125 ml olive oil
Optional:
3-4 oz/ 100g hard cheese
3-4 oz/100g pine nuts
Put all ingredients into your blender or food processor and pray for a smooth melange. If your blender balks, stir and add more oil. If you elect to add nuts and cheese, they may be smushed in the machine at the same time. Great on dandelion noodles.
Preparation time: 15 minutes, unless I hang out to talk with the little star lady. This freezes well. To keep without freezing, put pesto in a jar and pour a good layer of oil right on top; keep cool.
For more in-depth information on chickweed please check out these two great books
This is the very first book I ever read on herbs! This is a real good book. This book explains the Wise Women Way of herbalism, goes into detail on how to make teas, salves, oils, tinctures, and more, and describes in great depth several wonderful plants. The information in this book is presented in a friendly, funny, lively way. and it is packed full of it!!
I use this like a directory of herbs. This book gives you, in A-Z order, information on the history, uses, and a basic description of many plants and trees used in herbalism
