Chickweed Blossom Turns into Seed Pod (3 pix below)

The other day, Steve and I went out to Daffodil Hill to take pictures, and on the way we stopped for lunch. While we were waiting for our order, I stepped outside to take pictures and found this lovely little Chickweed blossom to share! One of the things I love most about this flower is its defined star-shaped sepal, which is where the petals of the flower grow on top of. The sepal also protects the forming petals before opening and folding back to expose the flower.

The story continues! Today I was taking pictures and thought I found a new green flower...but after studying it very closely, I realized that it was the forming seed pod of a Chickweed flower! I took several pictures so you can see what it looks like below!

Common Chickweed has very tiny flowers, about 1/4" in diameter, and is a native of Europe, but now grows all over North America too. It's considered to be a weed, hence its name, but it's also edible, quite nutritious, and served in salads! :D (Here are many recipes for tasty salads with Chickweed and here it is listed in a fancy restaurant's menu!) Also, Chickweed is served as a symbolic dish in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku. Finally, chickweed has had many folklore purposes, used for everything from mange to arthritis relief, though no evidence of actual medical value is known.

If you would like to know more about this pretty little flower, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)