hairy bittercress vs chickweed

Both have white blooms, but the blooms are quite different. Chickweed blooms look like stars, hence the botanical name stellaria. Hairy bittercress blooms cluster at the end of stems, have 4 white petals, 4 green sepals, or outer floral leaves, and 4 or 6 stamens, as can be seen in the photo below.

How do you identify a Bittercress?

Bittercress is easy to spot in a patch of weeds or grass. It grows in a compact, basal rosette form – which is to say, its leaves all radiate out from around the base. Each leaf stalk has 5-9 paired leaflets, shaped somewhat like a kidney bean or a ginkgo leaf, with a single terminal leaflet at the end.

Is hairy Bittercress invasive?

Hairy bittercress is not invasive enough to warrant using herbicides. As soon as new plants appear in February or March, begin pulling them; these are the offspring of the previous fall's seed crop. ... The key is to get the plants before they set seed, which happens quickly after blooming.

What is hairy Bittercress good for?

Like all brassicas, Hairy bittercress is an excellent natural source of vitamin C. Its flavor profile is similar to watercress but bittercress is more readily available. It makes an excellent substitute for micro-greens. Use Hairy bittercress as a main salad green, garnish, or in a sandwich.

What will kill hairy Bittercress?

If you are finding hairy bittercress on your lawn, chemical control is an option that involves applying a preemergence herbicide in late summer before the seeds germinate or applying postemergence herbicide to young and actively growing weeds in lawns.

Can I eat hairy Bittercress?

Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) leafs out in a basal rosette, and like other members of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), its tender greens are edible. Don't be fooled by the common name—its flavor is mild and peppery, not bitter.

Can chickens eat hairy Bittercress?

Hairy bittercress - This rather unassuming weed emerges as a low rosette in very early spring, sets seed early, and disappears for the rest of the year. The hens will eat the very small green leaves that the plants have when young, but they do so rather unenthusiastically.

What does chickweed look like?

Chickweed is a broadleaf weed with small white flowers and elongated petals. It has large, egg-shaped leaves with pointy tips. It is also known as chickenwort, craches, winterweed, and maruns. Think those names sound unappealing?

Is narrow leaf Bittercress edible?

Edible Uses: Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked[105, 177]. Used as a vegetable[272].

Is chickweed edible?

Its flowers and leaves are, indeed, edible, though in large quantities the saponoids it contains can cause stomach upset. Chickweed flowers and leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. ... Chickweed is also grown as feed for chickens and pigs, hence its common names clucken wort, chicken weed, and birdseed.

How do you kill watercress?

1) Dig up Watercress root and all before it begins to flower. Remove weeds to an area away from shoreline and allow it to dry. 2) 2,4-D herbicide is a systemic option that is best applied early spring at the first sign of new growth prior to seed. This option will kill the entire weed root and all.

Is all cress edible?

All of it! The entire watercress plant is edible – leaves, stalks and even the flowers. Only the roots are best discarded as they don't taste great! Everything else can be eaten raw or added to your favourite dish to add that classic peppery flavour.

What does hairy Bittercress look like?

Hairy bittercress has a low growing rosette similar in form to a dandelion. It raises its profile in early spring with the appearance of flowers and seeds on a vertical stem. Like many members of the mustard family, hairy bittercress sets seed prolifically.

Is hoary cress edible?

Edible parts of Hoary Cress:

Young leaves and shoots - raw in salads or cooked as a potherb. ... In small quantities this substance is fairly harmless, and has even been recommended as having health benefits, but caution is suggested if you eat these leaves. The pungent leaves are used as a seasoning.

What plants are toxic to chickens?

An incomplete list of plants that are poisonous to chickens includes daffodils, foxglove, morning glory, yew, jimson weed, tulips, lily of the valley, azaleas, rhododendron, mountain laurel, monkshood, amaryllis, castor bean, trumpet vine, nightshade, nicotiana, and tansy.

Is chickweed good for soil?

Chickweed will benefit the soil if left to grow and die back on its own. For a tidier garden, cut the plants back monthly and tuck them under the mulch, or lay them on top of the soil to naturally decompose.

Is Ivy bad for chickens?

"TOXICITY RATING: Low. Although reported to be very toxic in a few scattered reports, this is not a frequently encountered toxicosis. ANIMALS AFFECTED: Cats, dogs, birds, other pets." I really don't think chickens should be right on top of it and expecting them to eradicate it doesn't look, at all, like a good idea.

What will kill chickweed?

Treat chickweed in your lawn with a lawn weed control product such as Ortho® WeedClear™ Lawn Weed Killer Ready-to-Use. When used as directed, this product will kill the chickweed but not harm your lawn. Apply when chickweed is actively growing in the spring or fall and always follow label directions.

How can you tell chickweed?

Chickweed is easy to identify for even the novice wildcrafter. It's tender, stringy, and rarely grows more than a few inches up off the ground. Leaves are small, teardrop- to egg-shaped with a pointed tip, and grow opposite each other along the stem.

What product kills chickweed?

It is possible to kill chickweed conventionally with weed-n-feed products or your run-of-the-mill broadleaf herbicide containing 2,4-D, mecoprop, and dicamba.

What is a narrow leaf?

Narrow-leaf bedstraw (Galium angustifolium) is a small, multi-stemmed shrub that may grow alone but often scrambles through the branches of larger plants. The stems are four-sided, usually ridged. Leaves are linear, less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) in length, with a small point at the tip. Petioles are absent.