Salvation Lily

Today I had lunch in a lovely Australian cafe in Shoreditch called Salvation Jane.

Salvation Jane is a hardy weed which was introduced to Australia in the 1800s by an English immigrant called Jane Patterson. The plant was a salvation because it could survive drought and became a vital source of food for grazing cattle. However, it has another name in farming circles: Patterson's Curse - because if sheep eat too much of it they die. The cafe does a cocktail called Patterson's Curse which, naturally, comes with a health warning!

This tale was related to me by the owner, who was one of the people I was lunching with - she was an absolute delight, and brought us free cakes to sample after our meal. Cake two days in a row!

Apologies - there were no samples of the Salvation Jane for a blip (and I did cake yesterday!) so I had to substitute a lily from our kitchen table...