But wait! There's more! Turns out our Little Star Lady friend just HAPPENS to be a mild mineral-rich diuretic and, since it contains sapponins, is actually capable of emulsifying fat cells and escorting them out of your body. Susun called it a superb metabolic balancer and says that it can have a regulating effect on the thyroid. Put all that together and it sure begins to sound like it could be a pretty good pal if you're trying to lose some weight. All I can say is that we ate like a bunch of lumberjacks that winter at Susun's and we all watched our jeans grow loose on us!
In my own experience I have seen chickweed's cooling properties and have used it as part of a poison ivy relief solution I make called "Five Buddies in a Blender". Actually, it has been used for centuries as a poultice for all kinds of hot, swollen conditions simply by squashing up the fresh leaves and stems and applying them to the affected area. Unlike other poultices that are applied warm and allowed to cool, a chickweed poultice will go on nice and cool and become very warm. That is when you take it off and apply more.
So. Where are we going to find chickweed? Early in the gardening season it will begin springing up in the sunniest parts of your garden as great flat mats of glowing green. By the worst heat of the summer it will disappear from those places and begin popping up in shadier spots, often beneath shrubbier plants. By fall it has returned to the sunny places, and I have very often found it just green as can be under the snow. It is so prolific, it can produce five generations in a growing season. Now. What would you rather do? Do battle with it, or HARVEST it! (Of course you could always name a cartoon strip after it.....) Call the neighbors, there's plenty for everybody.
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