Wild Food Foragers - Chickweed

Vol 1, No 2 Page 1

Chickweed (Stellaria & Cerastium)
Family: Caryophyllaceae (Pinks)

May 2003

There are actually 3 kinds of chickweed:

Common chickweed (stellaria media)
Star chickweed (Stellaria pubera)
Mouse-Ear chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum)

All 3 are choice edibles, easy to identify by their star shaped flowers and hanging seed pods, my reference books say you can eat as much as you want, and that there are no poisonous look-alikes. Distribution is widespread, though it prefers cooler weather so is available at different times in different Zones. In Zone 8 (my zone), chickweed is pretty much all dried up by May except in a few shady patches, but that doesn't bother me because I've been busy harvesting it since February, my freezer is full, my teas are dried, and my anti-itch cream is made. How about yourself? If you're not experiencing "chickweed bounty" yet this season, this newsletter's intent is to get you there, and if you've missed your opportunity this spring, I'll get you ready for the fall harvest, since chickweed has two growing seasons per year.

Not only is chickweed delicious, nutritious and widespread, but it is one of the most versatile first-aid plants you'll ever run across. Page 3 contains my recipe for an anti-itch cream that you can make at home, good for all sorts of skin problems, and one of the medicinal links gives recipes for lotions, poultices, etc. First, we'll cover the edible aspects.

Affectionately referred to as "poor man's spinich" and some say tasting somewhat like spinach when cooked, mouse-ear chickweed actually smells and tastes more like fresh cut corn to me. Delicious both raw and cooked, it retains it's bright green color when cooked, making every dish you put it in more attractive. It freezes beautifully, is extremely versatile, not to mention high in nutrients (see Page 2).

If you buy into the macrobiotic theory that you become what you eat, (i.e. you take on the energetic characteristics of the food you eat), we should all want to injest more chickweed, for it is: hardy (they say seeds can remain viable for up to 60 years), prolific (spreads by seed, root, node, and cutting), widespread (found world-wide), thrives in cold weather and poor soil, highly nutritious, a multi-dimensional healer, demure but beautiful, and it's tiny white flowers form a 10 pointed star! Who wouldn't want to be all of those things?!

Unfortunately, the 68,000 pages about chickweed on the internet are mostly written by people who want to kill it, who say such things as:

hated as an obnoxious weed by the typical gardener
an invasive weed found in lawns and gardens
a particular problem for strawberry growers. In other crops, spring and/or fall tillage would disrupt the life cycle of this weed.
competes with vegetables and ornamentals for nutrients and water, thus reducing the yield of the desirable plants.

Chickweed undesirable? Instead, I see it as a high yield organic crop, highly nutritious, needing no fertilizer, nor pesticides to protect it from bugs, and plants itself besides. Only goes to show, life is all a matter of perspective. Which reminds me of a very short story, "God's Thoughts on Lawns", which I've linked to here for your laughter and delight. Please feel free to pass it along.

Identification, Harvest and Preparation: ID tips, the slide show and colorful photos are on Page 2, linked to below.

History, Botanical info, and Recipes: on Page 3, linked to below.

Information Exchange : Subscribers and visitors, please add your knowledge of this weed here--recipes, experiences, anecdotes, questions, opinions. (A unique thread is posted with every issue to gather more information. Please do check out our Wild Edibles Info Exchange.

Poll #2: on Page 3, this poll will serve to let me know what most interests my subscribers about weeds, and reveals the results of last month's poll.

Archived issues: Thistles, Chickweed, Spiderwort, Wild Green Onions , Plantain, Elder, Hawksbeard, Wild Green Onion, Wood Sorrell. Dock, Hedge Nettle are in progress. Sign up for notice when the next issue comes out.

Not yet subscribed? Subscribe here.

Please let me know what you think about the publication! You can contact me anytime.

Thanks, and enjoy!

Standing knee deep in abundance!

Wonderful things to enhance your outdoor living space.

P.S. While this newsletter is free, your donations help keep it coming. It's a gosh awful lot of effort. Suggested donation per household is $15/year. 4 major credit cards, Visa, MC, Discover, and American Express are accepted. You may also send a check to: Wild Food Foragers of America, P.O.Box 41621, Baton Rouge, LA. 70835-1621
(Emenjay Enterprises is the authorized payment processor for WFFofA. This name may show up on your receipt.)

Be sure to read the DISCLAIMER below before following these links!

Not subscribed? Subscribe here.

Want to recommend this newsletter to your friends? Click here.

Our Sponsors

Foraging takes many forms, and I love to forage around the internet looking for great deals as much as I like foraging for weeds. Below are places where you'll find great gifts and products, at significant savings to you, and every purchase you make will support the WFFofA.

Grow and eat daylillies--huge selection here at great prices.

Thru July 1st, sign up at iGive and they will donate $5 to WFFof A. It won't cost you a thing!

Save up to 30% on new book purchases, plus you can often find used books in good condition for even less.

Our bookstore contains an extensive collection of books on edible weeds, foraging and cooking techniques, and related items such as culinary herbs, wilderness survival, self-reliance, outdoor living, etc.
A sample of the titles available is shown above, (if amazon.com's stuff shows up, as it does once in a while, hit your REFRESH button), and you can reach a lot more resources by clicking on the link below.

Save up to 30%.

Disclaimer:

Information given in the newsletter is educational but should not be considered definitive. Every effort is made to present clear testimonials from personal experience, however, different people may have different reactions than the author's experience. The author makes no attempt to identify every plant. If you choose to eat weeds, start out with a small amount and notice your reaction. Considerable effort is made to provide readers access to additional materials for the positive identification, harvesting and preparation of wild edible weeds, BUT you are ultimately responsibe for your own education, actions and diet.
To avoid poisonous look-alikes, foragers should always identify by SEVERAL indicators (by leaf, flower, seed pod, root and stem, by shape, texture, veination, color, hairiness, growth pattern, season, etc.) before eating from the wild. Different plants might look very similar to the untrained eye.
You should not pick weeds in polluted areas--along roadsides, near trash dumps, in fields or gardens likely to have been sprayed with pesticides or commercial fertilizers, etc.
You should not over-pick. The general rule of thumb is to harvest no more than 20% of an area, leaving the plants ample opportunity to regenerate for the next year, the next generation, and leaving something behind for the next forager. Becoming familiar with propagation methods can assist you in determining the most prudent conservation techniques for each plant.
You should always wash weeds before eating them. Dust is everywhere, insects and slugs naturally make their homes in vegetation, and birds do fly overhead! Let common sense be your guide.
Do not hesitate to call a doctor if you should have an adverse reaction to anything you touch or ingest in the wild. If you can bring the physician a sample, or identify the offending plant by name, all the better.