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Parsley Piert

Aphanes arvensis

Description

Named after the French perce-pierre, pushing through stony ground, and consequently valued as a kidney and bladder stone treatment. Poor people, who made most use of it, knew it as parsley-breakstone, and bowel-hive grass in Scotland, where it was particularly valued in Colonsay for treating inflammation of the bowel in children. In the 17th C. country women brought it to London's Cheapside to sell it. The leaves can be eaten raw in salads or pickled for winter use.

Identification Notes

greyish downy, 3-lobed short-stalked toothed leaves

Habitat

arable land, lime soils

Flowers in: J F M A M J J A S O N D