Chickenweed

/ˈtʃɪkənwiːd/ noun

Definition

Any of several low-growing weedy plants with small leaves and white flowers, especially common chickweed (Stellaria media), so named because chickens readily eat them.

Etymology

Compound of 'chicken' and 'weed'; named for the observation that domestic chickens eagerly consume these plants. Various plants go by this name across different regions, all connected by their palatability to poultry.

Kelly Says

Chickenweed is so nutritious that farmers intentionally cultivate it as winter forage for chickens, and herbalists have used it for centuries as a remedy—the chickens' preference for it was actually a signal of its nutritional value long before vitamins were understood.

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