It creeps across the damp ground. Glossy leaves bright green. Small white flowers nodding in the breeze. A plant that tastes like the forest. Native parsley is a small, creeping ground cover with kidney-shaped, parsley-like leaves. The leaves have a mild, pleasant flavour. They can be used as a parsley substitute in cooking. They are good in salads, soups and sauces. The flavour is delicate. It is easily overpowered. Use it as a garnish or add it at the end of cooking. The leaves are rounded with scalloped margins. They have a glossy, dark green surface. They are held on slender stalks that rise from the creeping stems. The stems root at the nodes. This allows the plant to spread rapidly across the ground. It forms dense mats in open, damp areas. It is an excellent ground cover for shady, moist sites. The species is native to New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and the subantarctic islands. It is also found in Australia. It is a common plant of damp, open areas. This includes forest margins, stream banks, and coastal grasslands. It tolerates a range of conditions but prefers moist, fertile soils. The species name moschata means musky. The leaves have a mild, parsley-like flavour with a hint of musk. To find native parsley is to walk the damp margins of streams and forests. The stream bank is damp. The parsley creeps. A leaf is picked and tasted. The flavour is mild. The plant does not know it is a substitute for parsley. It just grows. That is what parsley does. Populations are considered stable and widespread. The species is common in damp areas throughout New Zealand. It is threatened by competition from introduced weeds. Protection of wetland margins is important. Habitat loss from land clearance is the primary threat. Climate change affects wetland habitats. The damp places are shrinking. The parsley persists where it can.