Chickweed: The Green Monster

Every gardener has a personal nemesis in the garden. Mine is chickweed. The green carpet it produces is thick, luxuriant, and seems to spread before my eyes. Here in the cold, grim depths of a Kentucky winter, when I think I can sit back and relax from gardening chores, the chickweed flourishes.

Getting to Know Chickweed
Originally from Europe, chickweed is now found all over the globe. Although more than thirteen plants have the common name of chickweed, the one most often found in our gardens is common chickweed -- Stellaria media. Perhaps because of its abundance of nutrients, chickweed is often fed to caged birds and chickens, hence its most familiar common name.

Chickweed has smooth, succulent, bright green, teardrop-shaped leaves about a half-inch long, arranged in pairs. The multi-branched, trailing stems usually run along the ground rather than growing upright. An easy way to distinguish common chickweed from similar plants, such as mouse-ear chickweed, is to look closely at the stems. A line of minute hairs on one side of the stem will move to the opposite side of the stem at the stem joint. Another unusual trait is that the leaves close around the young shoots at night.

The 1/4-inch white flowers are star-shaped, giving rise to common names such as little star lady, starwort, and starweed. These close at night or when it's about to rain. Chickweed produces abundant seeds and also spreads by setting down roots wherever stem joints touch the ground. A winter annual, it flourishes in cool weather. Seeds sprout in the fall, and plants grow throughout the winter months in full sun. In summer's heat, chickweed retreats to the shade or dies out entirely.

Chickweed Control
Chickweed usually isn't troublesome among vegetable crops because it can't effectively colonize soil that is frequently disturbed by tilling. But if it finds its way to soil that you don't cultivate regularly -- as in your perennial beds or strawberry patch -- you'll need to be diligent about weeding. This hardy little plant produces an enormous number of seeds, and does so very early in the season. If you can, remove the plants before they set seed to reduce the number of potential plants to come. You must get the roots to kill the plant, so a sharp-bladed weeding tool that can cut the shallow roots from the soil is key.

Some Benefits of Chickweed
Though it is unsupported by scientific studies, chickweed has a reputation in folk medicine for treating a broad spectrum of conditions. It is most commonly used as a soothing external remedy for cuts or to ease the itching associated with inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema -- the leaves can simply be bruised and applied as a poultice or added to bath water. A tea or tincture taken internally is supposed to ease rheumatism. There are no known side effects except for diarrhea when it is taken in large quantities.

Fresh chickweed is a good source of vitamin C and also contains some B vitamins, beta-carotene, several glycosides and plant acids, and a variety of minerals. It has a refreshing, slightly tart flavor and is excellent in salads. Another gardener gave me his recipe for fresh chickweed pesto, and I've found it another delicious way to take advantage of its nutritional benefits.

Armed with this information, I now have several options besides swearing at the chickweed while hand-digging it and adding it to the compost pile. I try to remember what one long-ago herbalist wrote of chickweed: "It is a fine, soft, pleasing herb, under the dominion of the Moon. In a word it comforteth, digesteth, defendeth, and supporteth very notably."

Photograph by Maggie Oster/National Gardening Association.

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