Chickweed (Stellaria media)

Chickweed is exceptionally abundant in towns and country during the spring, autumn, and winter. It will occasionally be found in shadier spots during the summer, but it doesn’t enjoy hot sunshine.This preference, coupled with shallow roots, makes it an ideal understory plant for a vegetable garden. The cover provided by chickweed will competitively exclude other 'weeds' and provide a delicious crop of salad vegetables.

This plant was one of the Victorian’s favourites. The earthy succulence, and soft yet crisp textures, go really well in any salad. When we talk of foraging for alternatives to expensive, nitrate-soaked, plastic-packed salads - then this plant, which grows freely for us, screams out to be used rather than treated as a pernicious weed.

Chickweed also has a long history of traditional uses as an emollient for the skin, helping cases of eczema, psoriasis, ulcers, boils, and abscesses. It can be administered through poultices, compresses, baths and through its consumption in tinctures, fluid extracts in capsules, and as tea. Internally chickweed can be used for rheumatic and respiratory conditions, especially where excessive mucous is present. The17th century herbalist John Gerard recommended it as a remedy for mange. I also make a chickweed ointment in addition to comfrey which is excellent for skin.

S. media contains saponins, which can be toxic when consumed in large quantities. Chickweed has been known to cause saponin poisoning in cattle. However, as the animal must consume several kilos of chickweed in order to reach a toxic level, such deaths are rare. Many such potentially toxic compounds are mitigated against by other factors and phytonutrients in most plants (for example tannins prevent stomach bleeds using White Willow Bark, a main source of salicylic acid (Aspirin)).

The acclaimed Juliette de Bairacli Levy, observed that this plant was employed around the world. She also saw a resemblence between its uses and that of slippery elm: a prized, and also mucilage-rich, digestive and emollient plant. As such, Bairacli Levy rated chickweed as one of the most valuable weeds in the garden. Slippery elm does not grow wild in Britain and is an endangered plant due to the ravages of Dutch elm disease, so we may come to use and cherish chickweed more and more in a post-peak-oil society.