Chickweed

I have read that there isn't any part in the world where Chickweed doesn't grow. Mrs. Grieves, a noted herbalist talked about it being native to all temperate regions, even into the arctic. It is one of the most common weeds and one that we pull out of our gardens regularly.

After reading about where it grows, one would think that this is a very hardy plant when in fact it is tiny and frail looking. Chickweed has leaves that are succulent and egg-shaped, about one inch long and one-half inch wide with a little point on the end of each leaf. The plant is usually pale green and smooth. The flowers are located by some of the upper leaves and these little white flowers look like tiny white stars, thus its latin name; Stellaria media.

Traditional Chickweed has been used for inflammations, boils, cough, eyes, hemorrhoids, hoarseness, rheumatism, skin disease, blood toxicity, bronchitis, colds, constipation, pleurisy, sores, tumors, burns, cancer, Crohn's disease, deafness, fever, wounds, abscesses, acne, allergies, asthma, bronchial congestion, cellulite, cholesterol, colitis, eczema, fracture, gout, hay fever, infection, itchy skin, mucus, obesity, plague, psoriasis, rabies, spasms, and stomach ulcers. All of this information was found in the Globalherb computer program by Blake.

I haven't tried for all of these conditions but I will tell you some of the ways that I have used Chickweed.

My eleven year old friend, James had large welts all over him where he had been bitten by mosquitoes while we were bike riding. When we got home, I put two handfuls of Chickweed into the bathtub and turned on the water. I told him not to pull the plug when he got out but to soak in this Chickweed tea. When I saw him next, the welts were gone and just the quarter-sized red circles were still all over him. The redness left within a few hours. He told me that when he stepped into the water, the itching stopped immediately. Chickweed had pulled out the toxin and allowed his body to start healing.

My Father-in-law was bothered by Shingles. If you have ever had them you know that they itch like mad. I told him that when I had Shingles, I used Chickweed tea. I had my husband bring in a handful of Chickweed that I then put into a kettle of water. I simmered this for a while and allowed it to cool. Using a cloth, I bathed the area that was bothering me and the itching stopped as the tea touched it. My Father-in-law was so happy to hear this. Chickweed only handles the symptoms of Shingles; there are other things that get it out of the body so that it can't reoccur.

I have two ragdoll cats. The younger cat has mattie eyes all the time. We think she has a chronic sinus infection. The Vet tells me that cats with long hair tend to have mattie eyes so we wash her eyes out from time to time with Chickweed tea. She doesn't like it but will put up with us. I decided to see if this tea stings or what she might not like about it. (I love to be a guinea pig on things like this.) I found out that it is so mild to the eyes; one could wash a sty on a baby if necessary. So it was just getting her eyes washed that she didn't like. One could use this as a wash for any facial swellings or redness. Because of its ability to pull fat and toxins out, it is perfect to use for sties.
There are many salves that are made with Chickweed in them for its anti-itching property along with being Antibacterial and soothing to the skin.

Chickweed is found in a lot of herbal loss weight products for this very reason. I attaches to fat in the intestinal tract and brings it along with it out of the body. As part of a salad, it has very little taste so can be combined with just about anything and with any dressing.

The Globalherb program also gave me a breakdown on some of the constituents in this little plant. I was impressed with the almost 50 things that they mentioned; Everything from Vitamin C (and the printout states "lots" behind this one as it does behind Vitamin A and B vitamins.), to Niacin, Calcium (lots), Iron (lots), Manganese and Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Protein, and Zinc. I can see that a salad make out of this weed, sure would give the body a lot of choices to build with.

The next time you are weeding in your garden and you come across this wonder plant, make sure that you set it aside to be taken into the house to be washed and ready for your next meal, salad or even in a sandwich. You will be doing yourself a big favor.