Brooklime

Brooklime is a succulent perennial that grows in shallow streams, ditches and pond margins, thriving where watercress and water mint do. Stout, hollow, shiny stems root along the ground at the base and then rise, carrying pairs of short, stalked, oval, slightly toothed leaves that are thick and leathery and turn blackish when dried. Small bright blue or pink flowers grow in loose clusters from the leaf joints. It occurs across Europe, North Africa and north and western Asia, and as an introduced plant on other continents. Grieve records it throughout Britain, as far north as the Shetlands, and lists a long run of old local names, among them Water Pimpernel, Becky Leaves, Cow Cress and Well-ink.