This is a post from my
personal blog. I want to continue to highlight different herbs and remedies that grow locally and are easily accessible. Chickweed is a wonderful place to start as Spring approaches as this is when it is happiest.
As I get to know the herbs I work with day in day out, I feel like they take on a persona that I know as intimately as many of my human friends. So, in the vein of Susun Weed, I've decided to take the time to write about these herbs I am getting to know so intimately. Here is my first attempt:
Chickweed - Stellaria media
Meet Stella. She is my dainty friend who enjoys hiding under the blue spruce in my front yard. Her succulent, slender body dances around the fairy hole among the grass we grow long and the speedwell that blesses the travelers who pass by our abode. Stella’s leaves and stems pop as her cooling juices flow into my mouth. While she can simmer in an infusion, she prefers being slowly and playfully nibbled, fresh and whole, giggling along the way. Her flowers twinkle like the stars she mimics amid the bright greens of early spring with sprites of seed pockets zipping out at the sides. She is a lady of light, lightening my waist line and the heaviness of a supper salad. Her saponins slip into my cells, bringing her cool, rejuvenating energy and sweeping out the heavy fats and hot infections. She is so slippery smooth that she can dive into my deepest cells and draw out even those infections that my herbal allies cannot find. When I first let her dance on my lips, the inside of my cheeks broke out in little sores. She had found little pockets of infection that I had not even realized were there, bringing them up like a rising bubble and popping it away. Externally she has been a great friend as well. Kieran, my barefoot wolfboy, often gets little splinters in his feet which she helps draw out painlessly. Another time she calmed an angry volcanic boil on a sister’s bum. It is hard to stay mad when Stella comes to play. She soothes, cools, nourishes, cleans, and moistens while also clearing away excess dampness. She is an ally for people with hypothyroidism as well.
Many uses call for Miss Stella. Michael Wood lists the following indications:
· Thin, malnourished, weedy constitution
· Overweight, hypothyroidism, poor lipid metabolism, high cholesterol, arteriosclerosis.
· Sore eyes (poultice)
· Deafness
· Ulcerated, inflamed throat and mouth
· Bronchitis, pleurisy, coughs, colds, hoarseness, asthma
· Excessive appetite
· Inflammation or weakness of the stomach and bowels; colitis, diarrhea
· Constipation, complete obstruction
· Hemorrhoids
· Peritonitis
· Lactation: mastitis (internal and external application)
· Swollen testis (poultice)
· Cellulite
· Rheumatism, arthritis
· External application on inflamed surfaces; scalds, burns, boils, abscesses, skin diseases, rashes, eczema, itching, erysipelas, burning and itching genitals, wounds
· Lipomas, fatty tumors, watery deposits
· Blood poisoning (internal and external)
· Itching skin (salve)
· Drawing agent for foreign bodies in the skin, with infection and pus formation (salve)
Enjoy her often once her flowers begin to twinkle in the early spring. Salads are always better when she is added. She will help wake up your liver, endocrine system, kidneys, lymphatics, skin, lungs, and intestines after a sluggish and sleepy winter. She can be enjoyed fresh or dried in infusions and decoctions. Tincture works just as well as the tea (Rosemary Gladstar). Stella is a welcome addition to a soothing salve or poultice.
Spring Salad
Baby Spinach
Chickweed stems
Johnny Jump Up Flowers
Violet flowers and leaves
Strawberries, chopped or sliced
Balsamic vinegar
Pile all ingredients in a bowl and drizzle with a bit of balsamic vinegar. It is slightly sweet and very cooling.
