Herb of the Week: CHICKWEED

Every Wednesday Milly and Me Apothecary will bring you an herb of the week and Every Month (at some point, hopefully the beginning of the month we will bring you a herb of the Month.) This week our herb of the week is CHICKWEED, she also happens to be our herb of the Month for the Month of March! Please enjoy this short article my son and I put together for you about our lovely plant ally chickweed. 

 Chickweed is an herb, typically used for medicinal purposes. The delicate green plant with its petite white flowers can be found growing wild in the cool month of March as one of the first signs of spring. This sweet little herb often mistaken as an invasive weed can be harvested and used as a tea, for weight loss, nausea, asthma, and it can also easily get rid of coughs and many more aliments. It can be made into a salve to be used topically as a treatment for a plethora of skin diseases such as eczema, psoriasis, diaper rash, contact dermatitis, and many more skin issues. Chickweed can also be enjoyed fresh and raw on top of salads for its high nutrient content.  

It is a healthy little herb that comes in a variety of different species such as star chickweed, mouse ear chickweed, greater chickweed and at least 20 different other varieties. This plant is native to Europe and has been naturalized here in North America and other parts of the world such as Japan. It's small but packed with minerals,nutrients and helpful chemical compounds that give it its beneficial medicinal properties. Some of these compounds and nutrients include Saponins, which are responsible for chickweeds weight loss properties, and expectorant properties that help with coughs and colds.  It is compound known to break up mucus, and help remove phlegm, and can help break up cyst and move along fats like cholesterol in the blood. Chickweed is high in Vitamins A, Bs and C, as well as copper and iron, and is also known to contain Silica which is known in nature as quartz. 

Chickweed is a great little plant ally to have in your medicine chest, but it does have  potential toxicities. Chickweed side effects include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rapid pulse, dizziness, weakness, and cyanosis (bluish skin, nails, or lips), if taken in very large quantities. It has been known to cause toxicity in cows when ingested in extremely large amounts (2 Kilos or more).  A human would have to eat at least two pounds of chickweed for it to be toxic to the body. So feel free to enjoy a small, comforting cup of chickweed tea for its sweet mild flavor and its many health and healing benefits.  

You can find chick weed tincture and loose dry tea in our store: www.millyandmeapothecary.com don't forget to use promo code; FIRST25 for a 25% discount.  

Resources used

Websites and Blogs

Editorial Team, “Herbal Chickweed Weight Loss”, MMI Online LTD, 4 July 2015, 22 March, 2020, <https://www.onlymyhealth.com/>

Wong, Cathy “Chickweed, What Should I Know About It”, Dotdash, 17

 September, 2019, 22 March, 2020, <https://www.verywellhealth.com/>