I’ve probably walked past this plant many many times but last Sunday was the first time I knowingly thought ‘Oooo, that must be Brooklime’.

It was the tiny blue flowers that gave it away, and the fleshy succulent-like leaves, and the fact it was growing in the wet muddy area of a local horse field (that has a public footpath running through it, which I often use to get to a favourite local woodland). The flowers of Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga) are the clearest indicator that this is a member of the speedwell family, just one that prefers to live in damp habitats.

The Plantlife website has an interesting section on this plant, entitled ‘Things you might not know’:

• Brooklime was used as a salad plant in much of northern Europe in the past.
• It used to be eaten with watercress and oranges to help prevent scurvy.
• Although edible, the leaves are bitter and the same precautions should be taken with them, as with watercress, in order to avoid liver fluke.