South American Plants – Nasturtium

Name - Nasturtium means a ‘nose-twister’ and it was so named, by the Romans, because if its pungent smell. The direct latin translation is ‘nasus’ = nose, and ‘torqueo’ = twist.

Description - Nasturtiums are either annuals or perennials, but neither will be fully hardy in the UK. The perennials, though, are easily dug up in the autumn and kept frost-free over winter for planting out the following spring while the annuals will probably self seed to reappear the following year. The floral trumpets are long and appear in shades ranging from lemon through to almost burgundy, taking in the more familiar orange, red and deep brown on the way. The leaves may be plain green or variegated. Its leaves are edible to spice up salads. The edible leaves can be harvested as soon as several leaves are on the plant. Like any leaf type of plant, they taste better when young and older leaves can be bitter. Related to the cress family, Nasturtiums have a slightly pepper taste and the seeds can be pickled like capers. The flowers are also edible, but have less taste.

Origin - nasturtiums need morning to night sun and average soil that never bakes dry to reflect their South American origins. The varieties majus and speciosum tolerate poorer ground than the more delicate hybrids – in other words, they’re great for covering up a bit of waste ground. Annuals should be sown into well-weeded soil and apart from watering in dry spells probably need no further attention, they will riot across paths and up low poles and posts with mad abandon. Tender perennials will not be completely hardy and need digging up, with their top growth cut off, for storing over winter in a cool, dry, frost-free garage – this is the time to divide them to create new plants.

For Decoration - The flowers look excellent in the garden, but are not great for harvesting and vases. Instead put the washed flowers on a salad or frittata for a real beauty of a meal.

South American nasturtium photograph by Ctd 2005, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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