stitchwort

[ stich-wurt, -wawrt ]

/ ˈstɪtʃˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

any of several plants belonging to the genus Stellaria, of the pink family, having white flowers.

Origin of stitchwort

1225–75; Middle English stichewort, Old English sticwyrt agrimony. See stitch, wort²

stitch up, stitch wheel, stitchery, stitching, stitchwork, stitchwort, stithy, stiver, stk, stk., stlg.

Its name, stitchwort, no doubt alludes to the plant's supposed virtue in cases of "stitches" in the side.

Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children |W. Houghton
It feeds, in June and July, on flowers of stitchwort (Stellaria holostea).

The Moths of the British Isles, Second Series |Richard South
The hedgerows had burst into tender green, and the banks were spangled with stitchwort and celandine stars.

A Terrible Tomboy |Angela Brazil
The Stitchwort is a tall, slender plant, and the flowers are large and very pretty.

Flowers Shown to the Children |C. E. Smith

In Devonshire the flowers of Stitchwort are known as Pixies.

Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics |Richard Folkard

stitchwort

/ (ˈstɪtʃˌwɜːt) /

any of several low-growing N temperate herbaceous plants of the caryophyllaceous genus Stellaria, having small white star-shaped flowers

C13: so named because it was once thought to be a remedy for stitches in the side