Chickweed (Stellaria media): Traditional Uses & Safety

At a glance

Botanical name: Stellaria media
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Part used: Aerial Parts
Taste: Salty, Sweet
Temperature: Cool
Moisture: Moist

Taught in Eden's Table

Seedlings (grades 3-5), Week 33

Our homeschool curriculum, one plant a week. Week 1 is free.

Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

Generally safe

While breastfeeding

Generally considered safe in breastfeeding; minimal data but long tradition of food-use and mild medicine.

For children

Considered safe; nutritive

Cautions

No significant contraindications known

General contraindications

Generally considered safe; nutritive

Stewardship

Chickweed grows as global lawn weed; harvest is functionally unlimited and ethical when taken from unsprayed ground. Stewardship: God provides in abundance — learn to see common weeds as provision, not nuisance.

In the traditional record

Chickweed (Stellaria media) — described by Nicholas Culpeper as "a fine, soft, pleasing herb" governed by the Moon, used to cool inflammation and draw heat from the skin; a staple of European folk practice for poultices, salves, and emollient applications, also detailed in Grieve's Modern Herbal.

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Take the free assessment Open Chickweed in the Apothecary

Teaching children at home? Eden's Table builds a full herbalism curriculum around plants like this one.

Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.