The Urban Pantheist

Common chickweed Stellaria media growing in the perennial bed at the front of the house.

It seems strange to see such lush healthy chickweed, nourished by whatever the previous owners fertilized the perennial bed with. When chickweed has appeared in this blog before (as 365 Urban Species #88) it was a scrappy little weed clinging to the edge of a path or in the crack of a curbstone. A native of Europe named for its palatability to chickens, it's now found in every state in the US, and in most of Canada. We have another species of chickweed growing along the side of the house, and it's already gone to fruit, but I never identified it precisely (or got a good picture of it in flower).

Urban species #088: Chickweed Stellina media
photos by cottonmanifesto



This little weed has "cute" written all over it. Its common name is cute, its scientific name is cute ("little star"), and it has a cute little flower. Like most sidewalk weeds of North America, it originally comes from Europe. Whether it was brought here intentionally (it is edible, nutritious, and has an herbal medicine role) or if its seeds snuck over in feed grain for livestock is anyone's guess. Chickweed is among the first weeds to flower in spring, tends to lay low in summer, and may flower again in fall. Allegedly its common name comes from the fact that chickens enjoy eating it--though you'd be hard-pressed to find an herby plant that chickens don't like. It's safe from chickens in Boston, but pigeons and other seed-eaters might like to feed on its seeds.