The damp places have their own carpets. This is one of them. A small, creeping herb with pairs of rounded leaves that are edible and have a mild, slightly sweet flavour. They can be eaten raw in salads. The small, white or blue flowers appear in summer. The plant forms dense mats in damp, open areas. The small, purple berries are also edible. A plant that gives food without asking much. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along the creeping stem. They are rounded, bright green, and slightly fleshy. The stems root at the nodes, forming dense, spreading mats that can cover large areas. A plant that holds the ground together. The flowers are small and white or blue, with five petals. They appear in summer and are followed by small, purple berries that are sweet and juicy. The berries are eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds. A plant that feeds the birds and travels with them. Native pratia is a plant of damp, open areas. It grows in damp grassland, at forest margins, and along stream banks. It forms dense mats that can suppress weeds and stabilise the soil. To find native pratia is to walk the damp forest margins and stream banks. Look for the creeping mats of rounded leaves, the white or blue flowers, the small purple berries. It is a plant of the damp places, a ground cover in the shade. The leaves are mild, the berries are sweet. Kneel down. Pick a berry. Pop it in the mouth. Sweet. Then pick another. The plant does not mind. It has plenty. It spreads across the damp ground, feeding birds and people, holding the soil together. It does not ask for thanks. It just grows.