This is a perennial herb forming clumps or mats of hairless green herbage, sometimes vaguely resembling a patch of moss.

[3] In 1998 numerous well-developed plants were found on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gough Island, where it is an introduced species.

A spray of it hung from the door lintel gave protection against fairies, especially those who made a practise of spiriting people away.

If pearlwort were stuck in a bull's fore-hooves, the cows with which it mated and the calves and the milk they produced were safeguarded from ills.

If drunk in an infusion, or used merely to wet the lips, it would attract her favoured lover, and if a piece of it were in the girl's mouth when she kissed him, he was bound to her for ever.