Common chickweed

A very easily grown plant, it prefers moist soil and a position in full sun or partial shade[52, 238]. It can be very lush and vigorous when grown in fertile soil, but in infertile soils, it will flower and set seed whilst still very small. A very common garden weed, chickweed grows, flowers and sets seed all year round. The flowers open around 9 o'clock in the morning and remain open for about 12 hours. They do not open in dull weather. The leaves fold up at night time, enfolding and protecting the tender buds of new shoots. Extended bloom season in Zones 9A and above. S. media is an annual, winter annual (capable of survival during milder winters) or sometimes perennial herb [1-8]. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. A self-seeding annual [1-2]. A clumping mat former. Forming a dense prostrate carpet spreading indefinitely [1-2]. The root pattern is fibrous dividing into a large number of fine roots [1-2]. References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information Temperature Converter Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit: Celsius Fahrenheit: The PFAF Bookshop Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants , Edible Perennials , Edible Trees , Edible Shrubs , Woodland Gardening , and Temperate Food Forest Plants . Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical) . Shop Now

Edible Parts: Leaves Seed Edible Uses: Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb[2, 7, 9, 12, 52, 54, 183]. They can be available all year round if the winter is not too severe. Very nutritious, they can be added to salads whilst the cooked leaves can scarcely be distinguished from spring spinach[4, K]. The leaves contain saponins so some caution is advised, see the note on toxicity at the top of the page. A nutritional analysis is available. Seed - ground into a powder and used in making bread or to thicken soups[172, 183]. It would be very fiddly to harvest any quantity of this seed since it is produced in small quantities throughout most of the year and is very small[K]. The seed contains 17.8% protein and 5.9% fat. Stellaria media is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku. References More on Edible Uses Composition Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food. Leaves (Dry weight) 0 Calories per 100g Water : 0% Protein: 14.5g; Fat: 2.4g; Carbohydrate: 63.9g; Fibre: 20.5g; Ash: 19.3g; Minerals - Calcium: 0mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 0mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg; Vitamins - A: 30mg; Thiamine (B1): 0.02mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0.14mg; Niacin: 0.51mg; B6: 0mg; C: 375mg; Reference: [ 218] Notes: The figure for vitamin A is in mg

Seed - this species should not need any encouragement, you are much more likely to be trying to get rid of it than trying to introduce it (eating it is one way of doing that!)[K].