Chickweed

Excellent groundcover for shady areas, forms dense mats that suppress weeds. Self-seeds readily to fill gaps between stepping stones and in herb gardens. Creates living mulch under taller plants. Provides delicate texture contrast with small leaves and tiny star-like flowers.

Traditional cooling herb rich in saponins, used in salves and poultices for skin irritations, eczema, and minor wounds. Internally used as gentle lymphatic tonic and for respiratory complaints. Contains vitamin C, minerals, and mucilage.

Mild, corn silk-like flavor makes excellent salad green when young. Best harvested in cool weather when tender. Use raw in sandwiches, pestos, or as microgreen substitute. Can be lightly cooked like spinach. Seeds are edible and nutritious for sprouting.

Important early-season nectar source for small pollinators and beneficial insects. Seeds provide food for finches and sparrows. Thrives in disturbed, nitrogen-rich soils. Indicates fertile, cultivated ground. Can produce 2-5 generations per year.

Low-growing annual with weak, sprawling stems having single line of hairs alternating sides at each node. Opposite, oval leaves. Tiny white flowers with 5 deeply bifid petals appearing as 10. Blooms year-round in mild climates. Closes flowers in rain.

Not applicable - herbaceous annual plant with no woody growth or structural uses.

Plant sleeps at night by folding leaves over growing tips. Can flower and set seed at temperatures just above freezing. Named chickweed as poultry eagerly consume it. More nutritious than many cultivated greens.