Chickweed
All-Purpose Herb
Scientific Name: Stellaria media.
Common Names: Starweed, star chickweed, scarwort, satin flower, Indian chickweed, adder’s mouth.
Description: Found in moist places near woods and usually in areas which have at one time been cultivated for farming or gardening, chickweed is a common plant in temperate regions. Often considered a weed, the herb is low growing and lime colored, with oval leaves which grow close to the stem and sometimes have short stalks. The starlike flowers have five petals, and the seeds which ripen from these blossoms are enclosed in green capsules. Although the plant appears fragile and delicate, this herb with its tiny flowers and leaves is rich in copper and iron. Chickweed is quite palatable in salads while it is still young and tender. In mild climates chickweed is almost evergreen, and can continue to grow through the winter. Perhaps as ubiquitous a garden weed as dandelion, chickweed has the added annoyance of being a high pollen producer; people with summer allergies suffer because of it. Additionally, the plant can reproduce itself up to five times within a single growing season, and often becomes a plague for gardeners working to free their lawns and flower beds from its persistent presence.
History: In North America there are 25 species of chickweed. Native Americans used both the native species and those introduced by later settlers for many kinds of healing. European and American farmers employed chickweed in the care of their barnyard animals, especially poultry (hence the reference to chickens in plant’s common name).
Nicholas Culpeper, the famous 17th century astrologer and physician, writes in his Complete Herbal that this herb is effective in fighting disorders of the liver, reducing all swelling and redness of the face, in treating various pustules and skin ailments, and in curing palsy, cramps, convulsions, and both external and internal ulcers. The leaves, flowers and seeds of the plants were crushed and boiled or otherwise distilled in water to produce the healing extract, or else mashed with other herbs to create soothing poultices and salves.
Modern Uses: Today chickweed is recognized for its demulcent, emollient and nutritive qualities. It is especially valued for its improvement of internal and external inflammations of membranes and of skin surfaces. Bleeding bowels, weakened and/or bleeding lungs, mouth or throat ulcers, burns, coughs and even appendicitis fall into the category of ailments sometimes treated with this herb. One major active component of chickweed is its steroidal saponins—emulsifiers which make almost all human membranes permeable or elastic, thereby encouraging assimilation of nutrients in many conditions. As a food, chickweed is still considered safe and nutritious. Some herbalists have seen certain evidence that chickweed can dissolve fat deposits or even fatty tumors. Because of this action, it is thought that chickweed may aid weight loss, although there is a considerable amount of skepticism among herbalists and physicians concerning this claim.
Other applications of chickweed include the use of its juice to dissolve warts and skin growths, its ingestion to improve appetite, and its topical and internal employment to combat deafness. This plant can reasonably be classified as an all-purpose herb. In particular its effect on the liver seems to include an ability to release the small vessels that take blood from the liver to the hepatic veins.
Take two tablets/capsules with two meals daily.
Sources
A Handbook of Native American Herbs by Alma R. Hutchens (Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala, 1992).
“Chickweed: The Healer” by Dr. John R. Christopher in Herbalist (September 1977).
Herbal Healing: A Practical Introduction to Medicinal Herbs by Michael J. Hallowell (Garden City Park, New York: Avery Publishing Group Inc., 1985).
Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West by Michael Moore (Santa Fe, New Mexico: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1989).
Wise Woman Herbal by Susan S. Weed (Woodstock, New York: Ash Tree Publishing, 1989).
