Chickweed is the name given to different species of plants, belonging to the same family called
Caryophyllaceae, which is also known as pink family. All these plant species have their own specific advantages for humans as well as other animal species. You may learn about all these herbal plant species on this page.
Cerastium – Also known as Mouse-ear
chickweed, the plants belonging to this specie are first members of this family. These herbal plants are grown in different parts of the world including United States. These
Chickweed plants are consumed by different species of larva. The two species of these insects, which feed upon cerastium include Coleophora chalcogrammella and Coleophora striatipennella.
Holosteum – This category of plants belonging to the same family is also known as Jagged Chickweed. These
Chickweed plats are found in different parts of Europe, Africa and Central and South West Asia. These herbs have annual life spans and have thin stems. The sprawling nature of these plants has suggested this name for them, as holo means ‘whole’ and osteon means ‘bone’. The flowers of these
chickweed plants have petals with white or mild pink color and 5 sepals.
Moenchia – This category is the third one in the family of chickweed. This category is also known as
Upright Chickweed, due to the structure of plants belonging to this specie. There are three main sub-species of this plant namely Moenchia erecta, Moenchia graeca and Moenchia mantica. These species are grown mainly in Mediterranean region in the south of Europe. These are also grown in various parts of Australia, southern Africa and North America. These
chickweed plants also have annual life spans just like preceding specie of plants.
Paronychia – This category of plants are available in as many as 100 species grown all over the world. The main regions facilitating its cultivation include North America, South America, Africa and Eurasia. Different species have different life spans, including annual, biennial as well as perennial. The flowers of all these species are white and yellowish-white in color. These
chickweed plants are considered to treat a fingernails disease and thus, it derived its name from there. Some of the most popular plant species in this category are Virginia nailwort, hairy-forked nailwort, creeping nailwort and James' nailwort.
Stellaria – Also known as stitchwort, these plants are available in as many as 120 species found in different parts of the world. These
chickweed plants may be distinguished from other members of pink family by examining the stem containing hair on only one side. These plants solve the food purposes of a number of species of larvae, seed-feeding birds and others. Some most common species include
Water Chickweed, Wood Stitchwort, Marsh Stitchwort, Star Chickweed and Saltmarsh Starwort.
