Mouse-Ear Chickweed II

 Note from the Author: This is an update on a weed I briefly covered on September 2, 2022.

 

 

Here is one starting to bloom.

This specimen is looking really good...that cigarette butt nearby, not so much.

 

Common Name: Mouse-Ear Chickweed

 

Other Common Names: Sticky Chickweed, Clammy Chickweed, Sticky Mouse-ear Chickweed.

 

Botanical Family: Caryophyllaceae (The Carnation Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Cerastium glomeratum

 

Description & Habitat: Mouse-Ear Chickweed is a non-native cool season annual that is similar in physical features to its cousin Common Chickweed (Stellaria media). Mouse-Ear Chickweed has green foliage that may appear grayish due to the fuzz of it’s fine hairs. Leafe are simple and have an entire margin and are borne in opposite arrangement. This plant may have deep red stems and had five-petaled flowers borne in clusters that are white in color and have a deep notch in the petal tips. It is not uncommon for one of these plants to get as tall as six inches with a spread of up to a foot and a half. Generally Mouse-hear Chickweed is found in locations with disturbed soil, but can also be found in lawns, yards, potted outdoor plants and in garden beds. It is not particularly aggressive and is short-lived as the heat of summer tends to kill it when it emerges in a full sun location. In older publications this plant may appear under the botanical Latin names, Cerastium acutatum, Cerastium glomeratum var. apetalum and, Cerastium viscosum. As for medicinal/herbal uses I’ve managed to find two uses that are repeated by credible sources so it should be safe to consider the following. While I cannot find a originating source for the claim, the juice of this plant dropped into the nostrils during a nosebleed is said to stop the bleeding. The action by which this works is unclear, but it may be a coagulant and this might help with other minor wounds. In Nepal the juice of this plant is applied to the forehead to lessen the effects of a headache.  There are a number of common ‘weeds’ that have similar compounds as Asprin, specifically Salicylic acid which was first isolated in Willow bark but is also known to be found in the leaves of English Violets (Viola odorata). Oh and as a tip on looking for willows for pain relief, Purple Willow (Salix purpurea) and it’s hybrids with Daphne Willow (S. daphnoides) are the best sources for quality pain relieving bark.

 

 

When & What to Harvest: The foliage as a whole can be harvested and eaten raw or cooked.

 

Edible Related Plants: Common Chickweed (Stellaria media),

 

Similar Dangerous Species:  None are known.

 

Recipe:  

Mouse-Ear Chickweed is useable in all the same ways as Common Chickweed.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/cerastium-glomeratum/

 

 

Where to get seed or Bare Root Plants:

I don’t know of any credible vendor selling seeds or plants.

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

Spring Garden Plants:

Swiss Chard, Red

(More TBA!)

 

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

Carolina Gold, Enhanced Potting Soil – 1 Gallon Bag

 

 

 

*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Farmed Chickweed

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is March 20^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

I got a fever and the only cure is MOAR Chickweed!

 Welcome back to the Lost In the Farmer’s Market Blog. At the current time we have a long-running series that covers useful, edible and medicinal ‘weeds’ that you can commonly find in the southeastern states of the United States. While our survey area is just within Cumberland County North Carolina it’ is possible you can find some of these forage plants in other places. This series was begun to give folks a detailed look into the resources they might not have known were right there in their lawn. Given that the world situation is not that great and there are already shortages of critical grains and fertilizers forage foods may be the most useful answer on a local level. LITFM will keep this series going as long as we keep finding wild resources to photograph and write about. If you have any questions or comments about our articles please leave a comment either here or on our YouTube Channel (The link is at the end of the article). Thank you for reading, and remember just one thing, you can’t eat lawn grass.

 

 

Photographed back in march or April this specimen emerged amidst a pile of Sycamore leaves.

Sticky Chickweeds are common sight in urban areas, this one is so urbane that I caught it just after it finished up a cigarette.

 

Common Name: Sticky Mouse-ear Chickweed

 

Other Common Names: Sticky Cerastium, Sticky Chickweed, Clammy Chickweed

 

Botanical Family: Caryophyllaceae (The Carnation Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Cerastium glomeratum

 

Season to Harvest:  In the cold season whenever this plant is found.

 

Habitat: Sticky Chickweed is found on disturbed soils, in fields on waste sites, in outdoor potted plants and beside buildings.

 

Parts to Harvest:  The leaves and shoots.

 

Poisonous Lookalikes: None

 

Related Edible Species: Mouseear Chickweed (C. vulgatum)

 

Description: Sticky Chickweed is a mat-forming heavily branch forming winter annual. It grows from a noticeably slender taproot. Its stems are slender but are covered with dense hairs and it’s five-petaled flowers are white. Sticky Chickweed mainly reproduces by seed.

 

How to Harvest: Individual leaves on young shoots can be harvested freely as needed for forage salads and as a cooked potherb.

 

Recipe: Sticky Chickweed can be used in all the same ways as traditional Chickweed (Stellaria media). To make pancakes with this plant, cook, drain and blot 1-2 cups of leaves. Blend into a prepared pancake batter (2 cups of mix to 1 and ½ cups of water) and make appropriate adjustments for consistency. I recommend serving with butter and a tart jelly such as one made from Fox grapes or Currants.

 

 

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

Fresh Produce:

Pepper, Lemon Drop

Figs, Assortment (Magnolia, White Ischia)

 

Garden Stuff: ($3.00)

Cabbage – Early Jersey Wakefield

Celery – Tango

Cilantro – Vietnamese

Cuban Oregano – Cervesa & Lime

Fennel – Black

Hoan Ngoc

Sage – Pineapple

Thai Mint

 

 

Coming Soon:

Collards

Kale

Mustard Greens

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

 

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the Youtube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Common Sage

 

Meetings still going on! We now meet at LeClair’s General Store on the First and Third Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is on September 15^th between 5:30pm and 7:00pm. We are in the back room so come on in and join us for a fun garden chat.