04 Aug Sun 2013
"Chickweed" Supreme Healer of the Herbal Kingdom
Stellariamedia.Caryophyllaceae
Found in fields and plowed land. Usually indicates rich soil. Leaves are small, soft rather yellowish. Flowers are tiny and held with green bracts. It has a good taste and therefore can be eaten freely in salads when it is still young, before it turns stringy. This is one of the few herbs rich in copper and iron which is palatable. This small herb, often classed as a troublesome weed; is one of the supreme healers of the herbal kingdom and has given me wonderful results. It is equally beneficial used externally and internally, and fortunately is almost evergreen, growing well in mid-winter and continuing into the late summer.
Use, internal:
As a soothing and healing demulcent agent for the whole digestive system; cures ulcers of stomach and elsewhere. For all internal inflammation, from bowels to lungs. For colitis. This small herb possesses many of the healing properties of that famed remedy of the American Indians, slippery elm tree bark. Eaten as a salad, chickweed improves the eyesight.
Use, external:
Chickweed possesses remarkable drawing powers, absorbing quantities of I purities when applied to the skin. For irritations of the genitals. For cure of all types of skin sores, including erysipelas. For such eye ailments as ulcers, styes.
Dose:
A handful eaten raw twice a daily, chopped fine into a salad. Or, of a Standard Brew, a small cupful three times a daily. Before meals. Externally the herb can be applied as a lotion, but the best skin application is the fresh herb, washed, and then applied directly on the wound, sore, ulcer stye, or other infection. Hold it in place by covering with larger washed leaves, such as cabbage, lettuce or geranium, and then binding with cotton bandages. Change the chickweed every three hours or so, applying fresh. The spent chickweed will be very hot and drenched with impurities it has drawn out from the skin.