Stellaria Media or more commonly known as Common Chickweed is an herbaceous plant that comes from the family of Caryophyllaceae (Pink Family), Kingdom Plantae. This herb earned its namesake due to the fact that it’s always being eaten by chickens. It also goes by other names such as; winter-weed and chickenworth. It is originally native to Southern Europe, but has become naturalized in most parts of North America. This plant is resilient; it could withstand the harshest of winter and could grow like weeds in most disturbed places.
Characteristics:
-It is 3-4 cm in height.
-It resembles a mat-like structure and normally clustered together.
-It has rounded, opposite leaves that are usually less than 1.6 inches.
-It has white, star-like flowers.
-It sprouts around late fall and could survive the winter season.
-It produces a tiny egg-like fruit that normally contains seed.
-It self-fertilizes. It reproduces by dropping the seed found in the flowers directly on the soil.
Uses:
There is really no documentation that would prove that this herb has been around for ages, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any uses. Here is a short list of the things you could do with Common Chickweed.
Food
Stellaria Media is edible and very nutritious. It is fortified with Vitamin C and minerals such as Calcium, Zinc and Iron. It can be eaten in its raw form and can be tossed with other green leafy vegetables in fresh salads. In Japan, it is considered to be one of the main ingredients in making some of their spring-time symbolic dishes.
Consumption is not only limited to humans, though, like what the name suggests, it could also be used as an alternative organic feed for poultry and other seed-eating birds.
Herbal Medicine
Common Chickweed is used in folk healing. According to some research, it is used in curing skin related diseases such as eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. Creating a poultice by crushing the leaves could be applied to the skin. The immediate cooling side effect of this herb would help greatly in eliminating the prickling feeling and lessen the inflammation around the infected area.
Making tea out of the leaves would also be beneficial. As per recent studies, it could help treat menstrual cramps, alleviate, arthritis, bronchitis, and other rheumatic pains.
Does it help cure gynecomastia?
Swollen and full looking breasts in males are a pathological health condition called gynecomastia. It is an embarrassing predicament that men develop when their body produces more estrogens than male hormones.
Like what has been mentioned above, Common Chickweed is rich in Zinc. And based from scientific studies, this is one of the minerals that would pump up the production of male hormones in one’s body. Drinking tea made from Common Chickweed may help correct the hormonal imbalance.
Another way to use this herb in treating gynecomastia is to crush the leaves and make a poultice. Applying liberal amounts along the chest could help reduce the swelling.
These are just examples on how to use Common Chickweed, but then again, there is really no guarantee that it could cure it.
Share this:
