Chickweed

 Chickweed  (stellaria media) 

Chickweed is after one of those plants that you don’t notice, it’s small low growing, and often found on disturbed soil or under trees where animals dig. I usually find it around new developments housing for edges of new roads. Often when you find it, you can collect quite a large amount in a short amount of time 

It’s quite a tasty little plant. It's good and salads in place of lettuce. I think it tastes a bit like the love child of lettuce and beetroot. 

Identifying features for chickweed

• Long, thin, flexible stems that have a single line of hers along one side like a plant Mohican

• The leaves are small, no more than about a centimetre long and teardrop shaped

• It has small white flowers that look like they have 10 petals, but actually it’s five that are split

• Grows all year round

• No real smell, slightly grassy if you crush it

If you have all of these features, it’s likely you have chickweed

Lookalikes for chickweed

 Mouse ear chickweed which is hairy all over

Speedwell, Scarlet Pimpernel, neither of which have a single line of hair