''Umbilicus rupestris'', the navelwort, penny-pies or wall pennywort, is a fleshy, perennial, edible

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the stonecrop family

Crassulaceae The Crassulaceae (from Latin ''crassus'', thick), also known as the stonecrop family or the orpine family, are a diverse family of dicotyledon flowering plants characterized by succulent leaves and a unique form of photosynthesis, known as Crass ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Umbilicus'' so named for its umbilicate (

navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, commonly known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel, although ...

-like) leaves.

Etymology

Both the name "navelwort" and the scientific name ''Umbilicus'' come from the round shape of the leaves, which have a navel-like depression in the center.

Description

Wall pennywort grows to an average of high. The pallid spikes of bell-shaped, greenish-pink

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s of this plant first appear in May, and the green

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s ripen through the summer.

Distribution

The plant is found in southern and

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, 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. It is not at present under threat.Lockton, A.J. (2009-12-05)
"Umbilicus rupestris"
BSBI Species accounts. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland.

Medicinal usage

''Umbilicus rupestris'' is not the same "Pennywort" as the one used in Asian medicine, which is the unrelated Asiatic Pennywort, ''

Centella asiatica ''Centella asiatica'', commonly known as gotu kola, kodavan, Indian pennywort and Asiatic pennywort, is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and islan ...

''. ''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. Navelwort is also assumed to be the "Kidneywort" referred to by

Nicholas Culpeper Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His bo ...

in ''The English Physician'', although it may actually refer to the unrelated ''

Anemone hepatica ''Anemone hepatica'' ( syn. ''Hepatica nobilis''), the common hepatica, liverwort, kidneywort, or pennywort, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisp ...

''. Culpeper used astrology, rather than science, to classify herbs, and as such is not a reliable source. He claimed:

Properties

Vulnerary Wound healing refers to a living organism's replacement of destroyed or damaged tissue by newly produced tissue. In undamaged skin, the epidermis (surface, epithelial layer) and dermis (deeper, connective layer) form a protective barrier agai ...

: The plant is sometimes employed to ease pain on scratches by applying the leaf to the skin after removing the lower cuticle.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2719123 rupestris Flora of Europe Flora of Lebanon Flora of North Africa Flora of Spain Flora of Western Asia Taxa named by Richard Anthony Salisbury