Pseudostellaria jamesiana

Pseudostellaria jamesiana

Although this is commonly known as Chickweed, this is not the Chickweed of herbal medicine fame. That chickweed is Stellaria media, while this chickweed is Pseudostellaria Jamesiana or formerly Stellaria Jamesiana. It is also known as James's Chickweed, or more appropriately for foraging purposes, tuber starwort, because it is the tubers we want.

The flowers are easily recognized by their two-cleft petals, over which the little black anthers are set off distinctly. The two-cleft petal are one of the reasons they resemble Stellaria media, but that chickweed's petals are much more deeply cleft, nearly to their base.  This species also has long, tapering opposite leaves.

The roots of this plant form little enlarged tubers at intervals, up to an inch long, but sometimes smaller and closer together. When raw these tubers are pretty tough, almost woody. But after cooking for 15 minutes (at 10,000 feet elevation, so your cooking time may vary), they became tender, and very potato-like in flavor. I would consider these one of the better roots if they were easier to dig up. On the upside, these flowers are blooming for quite a long time during the summer, so you can find them for a longer season than Hydrophyllum capitatum, which has a similar taste, but is easier to dig and collect in a significant quantity.

The digging of these roots presents a bit of an ethical conundrum, especially if you are ethical, and trying to minimize your impact on the wilderness. Because these roots travel horizontally, they are seldom directly underneath the flower, and often many inches away. So finding them requires digging up an area, rather than a small hole directly underneath the plant. I suggest finding a clump in an area with relatively few competitors. Grassy areas are hard to dig and separate useful roots from. I much prefer the soft ground under coniferous forests. Remember to only harvest where they are abundant, not where there are no other of the same plants around. Once you find a good clump in good ground for digging, you will need to dig up a small area under them to find the tubers, which are usually on horizontal roots about 1 to 4 inches deep. You should throw back some of them to allow the plants to regrow, especially if they have the tiny little growth buds attached to them. Always be sure to replace the dirt afterward, smooth it out, replace the ground litter, and make it look natural again, rather than leaving a disturbed area of ground.