When out for a walk on a lazy Sunday afternoon, you might never expect a number of tiny green belly buttons to be poking out at you from a nearby wall. But should you be fortunate enough to brush against these umbilicated oddities, you may just find your own belly button pokes out a little further by the end of your constitutional!

Navelwort, or Wall Pennywort, can be found growing in stone walls or shaded rocky formations. Its leaves are green and round with a small dimple in the centre that mildly resembles an ‘inny’ belly button, hence the name. Though it is much too shallow of a dimple to resemble my belly button!

The historical medicinal use for this plant, keeping in mind that medical research has come a very long way since the days of homemade hedgerow potions, was the treatment of epileptic seizures. Though I’m sure any modern day doctor would rather stick to prescribing sodium valproate and their variants.

Add a couple of leaves to a bacon sandwich

It was also used to make a juice from the leaves, which are fleshy and moist, that is supposed to help a number of internal conditions such as an inflamed liver. No harm would come from trying this these days, but I am very sceptical of any worthwhile health benefits. Even though I’m willing to give anything a go that might help a hangover, I usually prefer to just add a couple of leaves to a bacon sandwich, which is sure to cure whatever internal problem I'm having at any given time. Like most leafy greens harvested in the countryside, they also work quite well in a salad.

Be careful when harvesting this plant as it doesn’t have a very deep root system and often grows in a shallow patch of soil that has gathered in a wall. Pulling on a leaf could easily uproot the entire plant.

If you’re not 100% sure that what you’re picking is safe for human consumption, don’t pick it. If you’re prone to food allergies, or pregnant, always seek medical advice before consuming anything foraged in the wild.