Sunday June 27
In my Blog account of our week at Cae Glas in North Wales, I showed a photograph of an unknown flower, growing in a drystone wall near Glaslyn Osprey Centre.
After some research, we have identified it as :
Umbilicus rupestris, the navelwort,[1] penny-pies or wall pennywort, is a fleshy, perennial, edible flowering plant in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae in the genus Umbilicus so named for its umbilicate (navel-like) leaves.
Wall pennywort grows to an average of 25 cm (9.8 in) high. The pallid spikes of bell-shaped, greenish-pink flowers of this plant first appear in May, and the green fruits ripen through the summer.
Distribution
The plant is found in southern and western Europe, often growing on shady walls or in damp rock crevices that are sparse in other plant growth (thus, "wall" pennywort), where its succulent leaves develop in rosettes.
Medicinal usage
Umbilicus rupestris is used in homeopathic medicine. Navelwort is referred to as Cotyledon umbilicus by Homeopaths, since that was the original scientific name of navelwort when Homeopathy was developed.
It's not found in Norfolk.
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