Drymaria cordata (L.) Willd. ex Schult.

West Indian Chickweed; White Snow

Herb

Annual

Vascular

West Indian Chickweed is an introduced herbaceous annual in the Pink family (Caryophyllaceae). It is native to Mexico, the West Indies, Central and South America. In Alabama in can be found in the southern half of the state. West Indian Chickweed occurs in lawns, in gardens, in flower beds, and in other disturbed areas. It is an annual with a tap root. The stems are prostrate, green in color, glabrous to glandular pubescent, and root at some nodes. Leaves are petiolate, opposite, orbicular to reniform in outline, entire, and glabrous. Flowers are produced in terminal and axillary cymes. Each flower has 5 lanceolate green sepals with white margins, and 5 white 2-lobed petals. The fruit is a capsule. Young leaves and stems of West Indian Chickweed can be eaten raw in a salad or cooked. It has been used in various forms as a treatment for respiratory disorders. In Africa and India, it is grown as a ground cover in coffee and tea plantations to prevent soil erosion.—A. Diamond

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Native FAC (NWPL)

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