Navel of Venus : The navel of Venus (botanical name: The focus of the rock), also called navel or Venus navel or rock navel, is a species of plants delicious, perennials and saxicolus family of Crassulaceae of the genus Umbilicus. It is sometimes called carinet, cotyledon, coucoumelle, cymbalion, escudet, goblet, abbot's ear.
The pale flower spikes appear from May to August, the green fruits ripen during the summer.
The scientific name of Umbilicus comes from the rounded, peltate shape of its leaves, which have a navel-shaped depression in the center of the blade. The flowers, shaped like pale green bells, are arranged in long spikes. The plant is found in southern and western Europe, often growing on walls or in damp, shady rock cracks, sometimes also in gaps in tree bark. The species reaches an altitude of 1 m in the Mercantour park (departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France).
Uses: The green leaves are edible raw and are widely used by chefs for decoration. They have a very appetizing taste and turn out to be quite tender. In the past, people ate its leaves for the simple pleasure of chewing.
They can be preserved in vinegar like pickles. On the other hand, the inflorescences are bitter.
In Brittany, pans were rubbed with leaves to season.