Common Chickweed

Along the grassy verges of Piney Woods Church Road, common chickweed (Stellaria media) is coming into bloom.  Alas, it has so many strikes against it already:  the flowers are minute (maybe half a centimeter across), the plant itself is low-growing and inconspicuous, and it is a common weed inhabiting lawns, road edges, and waste places across all of North America.  Do a Google search for chickweed, and the top item on the list is liable to be an ad for weed killer.  Common chickweed isn’t even native to these shores; it crossed the Atlantic from Europe.  In its travels, it managed to pick up quite a few common names, including adder’s mouth, passerina, satin flower, starweed, starwort, stitchwort, tongue-grass, and winterweed.  It does have many uses; it is an edible field green, and can be used to treat coughs when taken as a tea, and relieve itches when applied as a salve.  And it makes a lovely portrait, for those who have the patience to sit beside it on the rain-soaked ground and keep taking close-ups, hoping for one that will be more or less in focus.