garden nasturtium
Tropaeolum majus
The leaves exhibit the 'lotus effect'—microscopic wax structures make them so hydrophobic that water beads up and rolls off, carrying dirt away with it.
- Scientific name
- Tropaeolum majus
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Brassicales › Tropaeolaceae › Tropaeolum
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- urban
- Habitat
- Gardens, waste ground, coastal hillsides, and disturbed urban areas.
- Diet
- Photoautotrophic (sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water)
- Range
- South America (native Andes region), North America, Europe, Australia, Asia
- Size
- Trailing or climbing stems up to 3 meters (10 feet) long
- Lifespan
- Annual (under 1 year; occasionally a short-lived perennial in frost-free zones)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Generally secure, though wild native populations in the Andes face localized habitat loss.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and entirely edible. You can safely touch the hydrophobic leaves where water beads like mercury, or taste the peppery flowers. Ensure the plant has not been sprayed with chemical pesticides before eating.
Tropaeolum majus ( garden nasturtium , Indian cress or monks cress ) is a flowering plant in the family Tropaeolaceae, originating in the Andes from Bolivia north to Colombia. The species has become naturalized in parts of the United States (California, New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut). It is of cultivated, probably hybrid origin, with possible parent species including T. minus , T. moritzianum , T. peltophorum , and T. peregrinum . It is not closely related to the genus Nasturtium ...
Photo: Antonio W. Salas, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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