Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a plant I forage for most of the year and keep some dried on-hand for when it dies back in the heat of the summer. It’s used as an anemia treatment, taken 3 times a day as tea or food. This wild edible is commonly found in gardens across the United States as well as in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world and harvested and consumed regularly in Europe and Asia and anyone in the U.S. who knows about it. There are some related, edible species as well with between 90 and 120 species in the genus Stellaria.

Many people consider this plant nature’s best microgreen or multivitamin because it contains SO many vitamins and minerals and is available in the fall, winter, and early spring – just a time when we might be lacking in leafy greens (well, if we live close to the land, anyway). Even though it’s a wild edible, foraged plant, it’s more nutritious than most store-bought veggies.

Identification:

Leaves: Round, opposite leaves that are smooth (mouse-eared chickweed looks similar, but is fuzzy).

Stem: Slightly hairy. The stem is often green on one side, and purple on the other.

 

 

Flowers: 10-petaled, white flowers, about 5 mm across. Ten stamens with light yellow, greenish, or reddish anthers. Flower stalks are hairy.

Height: Five to 50 cm tall, usually sprawling out on the ground like a mat.

Habitat: Chickweed is a common lawn and garden weed, that can grow in waste soils, and forests. It also grows in Europe.

Poisonous Lookalikes

• Scarlet Pimpenel – Orange flowers instead of whie. Very similar leaves, but the stem lacks the line of hair down one side.

Nutritional Content

• Vitamin A: 3,000 IU (30%)
• Vitamin C: 40 mg (40%)
• Vitamin K: 24 mcg (30%)
• B Vitamins: Includes folate and riboflavin
• Calcium: 200 mg (4%)
• Iron: 1.5 mg (about 8%, though some sources say up to 16%)
• Magnesium: 30 mg (10%)
• Potassium 200 mg (5%)
• Calories: Approximately 35
• Protein: 3.3 grams
• Fat: 0.5 grams
• Carbohydrates: 6 grams
• Fiber: 1.5 grams

Chickweed is often considered a weed by gardeners, but this nutritional powerhouse only becomes more nutrient-dense when mowed. So, cut it back, and then in a couple of weeds, harvest the new growth for a salad, smoothie, or pesto.

Chickweed grows mostly in the cold season of the year, starting in early fall and dying back mid-summer, depending on your particular geographical area. In the winter, you can go out and clip bowls full of clean, fresh greens very quickly if you let this plant grow in your yard.

 

 

Chickweed pesto is a common way to eat chickweed you can follow and pesto recipe and just replace the basil with chickweed. This is the recipe I use:

 

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