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Photographer: Christopher Noll
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Family Brassicaceae
Nasturtium officinale R.Br.
watercress
Nasturtium: Latin nasus for “nose” and tortum for “to twist”, referring to the pungent taste
officinale: Latin generally meaning "of the shops" or "sold in the marketplace" or "official"
Invasive - Eradicate!
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| Status: | Introduced - naturalized; ecologically invasive |
| Plant: | erect or spreading, perennial, 4"-18" tall, emergent aquatic, sometimes evergreen, forming large, tangled wintergreen masses; stems spreading; rooting from the lower nodes |
| Flower: | 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; blooms May-Oct. |
| Fruit: | long, thin pod with coarse seeds in 2 rows |
| Leaf: | pinnately-divided into 3-9 rounded leaflets with the end one longest |
| Habitat: | sun; streams, springs, cold water; in limy, sedimentary, gravelly soil |
| (Glossary) |
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