Three Weeds

 Cleavers and chickweed next to the frog pond

3 Weeds

There are loads of uninvited plants in my garden. I think they are all great but try to keep them from going to seed as some can be a bit invasive.  Some plants I have such as St John’s wort, spearmint, red clover, evening primrose and honeysuckle, all have medicinal properties that our ancestors would have been very familiar with. I have an ever growing selection of ‘weeds’ now and I  have chosen the three most vigorous uninvited plants to demonstrate just how useful they really are. Knowing more about these plants really makes me feel as though I should be inviting more plants to come and stay.

Cleavers

Cleavers, also known as: goosegrass, catchweed, stickyweed, robin-run-the-hedge, sticky willy and more recently Velcro weed, has a long history of use as an alternative medicine and is still used widely by modern herbalists. It is used both internally and externally in the treatment of a wide range of ailments. It does get everywhere though and our dogs are covered with the seeds in summer, but we could eat it!

Cleavers Edible Uses

It is edible raw though quite unpalatable, it’s used as a pot-herb in some countries and can be added to soups. Using the plant as a vegetable has, some people claim, a slimming effect on the body. Cleavers seed can be used as a coffee substitutes like chicory, it needs to be dried and lightly roasted to release the coffee like flavour.

Cleavers History and Folklore

Cleavers was used as a love medicine in the past.  The infusion of leaves was used as a bath by women to be successful in love. It’s also been used as a hair tonic, apparently making it grow long. Several Native American Tribes used an infusion of the plant for infectious diseases. A red dye is obtained from a decoction of the root, it is said to dye bones red. Cleavers was also believed to remove freckles. They have been used as a remedy for snake bites, spiders and all venomous creatures. A thick matt of the stems, when used as a sieve for filtering milk, was said to give healing properties to the milk and is still used in Sweden for that purpose.

Dandelions

The whole plant is used as a medicinal herb internally and externally.

The fresh juice of Dandelion is applied externally to fight bacteria and help heal wounds. The plant has an antibacterial action,

The latex contained in the plant sap can be used to remove corns and warts.

When placed in a paper bag with unripe fruit, the flowers and leaves of Dandelion release ethylene gas ripening the fruit quickly. A liquid plant food is made from the root and leaves. A dark red dye is obtained from Dandelion root. A cosmetic skin lotion made from the appendages at the base of the leaf blades distilled in water, is used to clear the skin and is effective in fading freckles.

Dandelion is a perennial herb thought to be introduced from Europe and Asia. It is now naturalized throughout the Northern Hemisphere. No one is sure exactly how the dandelion has spread so widely, and there is some debate on the origin of the plant, but one thing we know for sure is that it grows really well in Inishowen.

Chickweed

Chickweeds are medicinal and edible plants. They are very nutritious, high in vitamins and minerals, can be added to salads or cooked as a pot herb, tasting somewhat like spinach. 

The sleeping plant

Chickweeds are an annual herb, widespread in some form. Chickweeds have established themselves all over the world, possibly carried on the clothes and shoes of explorers. They are as numerous in species as they are in region. Most are succulent and have white flowers, and all with practically the same edible and medicinal values. They all exhibit a very interesting trait; (they sleep) termed the ’Sleep of Plants,’ every night the leaves fold over the tender buds and the new shoots.

The whole plant is used in alternative medicine

A decoction of the whole plant of Chickweed is taken internally as a circulatory tonic for hundreds of ailments. The usual disclaimers apply here though. Don’t ingest anything unless you are totally sure you know what you are doing. It’s used to relieve constipation; an infusion of the dried herb is used in coughs and hoarseness, and is beneficial in the treatment of kidney complaints.

New research indicates Chickweed's use as an effective antihistamine. The decoction is also used externally to treat rheumatic pains, wounds and ulcers. Chickweed can be applied as a medicinal poultice and will relieve any kind of roseola in young children and is effective wherever there are fragile superficial veins or itching skin conditions. Again, disclaimers apply!