Family: Brassicaceae
watercress
[Nasturtium nasturtium-aquaticum (L.) H.Karst., more... ]
Etymology: Nasturtium: Latin nasus for “nose” and tortum for “to twist”, referring to the pungent taste
Plants: erect or spreading, perennial, 4"-18" tall, emergent aquatic, sometimes evergreen, forming large, tangled masses; stems spreading; rooting from the lower nodes
Leaves: pinnately-divided into 3-9 rounded leaflets with the end one longest
Flowers: white, 4-parted, 1/5" wide, petals 2 times longer than the sepals; inflorescence a cluster (raceme) of stalked flowers from the ends of the shoots
Fruits: pod, long, thin; coarse seeds in 1 rows
Habitat: sun; wet; streams, springs, cold water; in limy, sediment, gravelly soil
Plants: erect or spreading, perennial, 4"-18" tall, emergent aquatic, sometimes evergreen, forming large, tangled masses; stems spreading; rooting from the lower nodes
Leaves: pinnately-divided into 3-9 rounded leaflets with the end one longest
Flowers: white, 4-parted, 1/5" wide, petals 2 times longer than the sepals; inflorescence a cluster (raceme) of stalked flowers from the ends of the shoots
Fruits: pod, long, thin; coarse seeds in 1 rows
Habitat: sun; wet; streams, springs, cold water; in limy, sediment, gravelly soil
Floristic Rating: Wetland Indicator = OBL USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos