The History Of Chickweed
Other Common Names: Adder's Mouth, Alsine, Chick Wittles,
Chickenmeat, Clucken Wort, Common Chickweed, Hashishat Al Qazzaz,
Passerina, Satinflower, Sercedili, Skirt Buttons, Star Chickweed,
Starweed, Starwort, Stitchwort, Tongue Grass, White Bird's Eye,
Winterweed, Stellaria media
Range: Britain; Iraq; Spain; Turkey; USA
Habitat: It has been said that there is no part of the world
where the Chickweed is not to be found. It is a native of all temperate
and north Arctic regions, and has naturalized itself wherever man has
settled, becoming one of the commonest weeds.
Chickweed has a very long history of herbal use, being particularly
beneficial in the external treatment of any kind of itching skin
condition. It has been known to soothe severe itchiness even where all
other remedies have failed. In excess doses chickweed can cause
diarrhea and vomiting. It should not be used medicinally by pregnant
women.
The whole plant is astringent, carminative, demulcent, diuretic,
expectorant, laxative, refrigerant, vulnerary. Taken internally it is
useful in the treatment of chest complaints and in small quantities it
also aids digestion. It can be applied as a poultice and will relieve
any kind of roseola and is effective wherever there are fragile
superficial veins. An infusion of the fresh or dried herb can be added
to the bath water and its emollient property will help to reduce
inflammation - in rheumatic joints for example - and encourage tissue
repair. Chickweed is best harvested between May and July, it can be
used fresh or be dried and stored for later use.
A decoction of the whole plant is taken internally as a post-partum
depurative, emmenagogue, galactogogue and circulatory tonic. It is also
believed to relieve constipation and be beneficial in the treatment of
kidney complaints. The decoction is also used externally to treat
rheumatic pains, wounds and ulcers. The expressed juice of the plant
has been used as an eyewash.
Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb. They can be available all
year round if the winter is not too severe. Very nutritious, they can
be added to salads whilst the cooked leaves can scarcely be
distinguished from spring spinach. The leaves contain saponins so some
caution is advised. A nutritional analysis is available.
Seed - ground into a powder and used in making bread or to thicken
soups. It would be very fiddly to harvest any quantity of this seed
since it is produced in small quantities throughout most of the year
and is very small. The seed contains 17.8% protein and 5.9% fat.
Known Hazards: The leaves contain saponins. Although toxic,
these substances are very poorly absorbed by the body and so tend to
pass through without causing harm. They are also broken down by
thorough cooking. Saponins are found in many plants, including several
that are often used for food, such as certain beans. It is advisible
not to eat large quantities of food that contain saponins. Saponins are
much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes
have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc
in order to stupefy or kill the fish.
Other Common Names: Adder's Mouth, Alsine, Chick Wittles,
Chickenmeat, Clucken Wort, Common Chickweed, Hashishat Al Qazzaz,
Passerina, Satinflower, Sercedili, Skirt Buttons, Star Chickweed,
Starweed, Starwort, Stitchwort, Tongue Grass, White Bird's Eye,
Winterweed, Stellaria media
Range: Britain; Iraq; Spain; Turkey; USA
Habitat: It has been said that there is no part of the world
where the Chickweed is not to be found. It is a native of all temperate
and north Arctic regions, and has naturalized itself wherever man has
settled, becoming one of the commonest weeds.
Chickweed has a very long history of herbal use, being particularly
beneficial in the external treatment of any kind of itching skin
condition. It has been known to soothe severe itchiness even where all
other remedies have failed. In excess doses chickweed can cause
diarrhea and vomiting. It should not be used medicinally by pregnant
women.
The whole plant is astringent, carminative, demulcent, diuretic,
expectorant, laxative, refrigerant, vulnerary. Taken internally it is
useful in the treatment of chest complaints and in small quantities it
also aids digestion. It can be applied as a poultice and will relieve
any kind of roseola and is effective wherever there are fragile
superficial veins. An infusion of the fresh or dried herb can be added
to the bath water and its emollient property will help to reduce
inflammation - in rheumatic joints for example - and encourage tissue
repair. Chickweed is best harvested between May and July, it can be
used fresh or be dried and stored for later use.
A decoction of the whole plant is taken internally as a post-partum
depurative, emmenagogue, galactogogue and circulatory tonic. It is also
believed to relieve constipation and be beneficial in the treatment of
kidney complaints. The decoction is also used externally to treat
rheumatic pains, wounds and ulcers. The expressed juice of the plant
has been used as an eyewash.
Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb. They can be available all
year round if the winter is not too severe. Very nutritious, they can
be added to salads whilst the cooked leaves can scarcely be
distinguished from spring spinach. The leaves contain saponins so some
caution is advised. A nutritional analysis is available.
Seed - ground into a powder and used in making bread or to thicken
soups. It would be very fiddly to harvest any quantity of this seed
since it is produced in small quantities throughout most of the year
and is very small. The seed contains 17.8% protein and 5.9% fat.
Known Hazards: The leaves contain saponins. Although toxic,
these substances are very poorly absorbed by the body and so tend to
pass through without causing harm. They are also broken down by
thorough cooking. Saponins are found in many plants, including several
that are often used for food, such as certain beans. It is advisible
not to eat large quantities of food that contain saponins. Saponins are
much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes
have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc
in order to stupefy or kill the fish.
No comments:
Post a Comment