Brassicaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Nasturtium officinale

Edibility

4/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

Whilst the plant is very wholesome and nutritious, some care should be taken if harvesting it from the wild. Any plants growing in water that drains from fields where animals, particularly sheep, graze should not be used raw. This is due to the risk of it being infested with the liver fluke parasite[ 5 Title Food for Free. Publication Author Mabey. R. Publisher Collins Year 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5 Description Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants. , 244 Title Herbs Publication Author Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Publisher Pan Books Ltd. London. Year 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8 Description Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant. ]. Cooking the leaves, however, will destroy any parasites and render the plant perfectly safe to eat[ 244 Title Herbs Publication Author Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Publisher Pan Books Ltd. London. Year 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8 Description Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant. ].

Botanical Description

Nasturtium officinale is a very succulent, aquatic, perennial plant with stems that can be 50cm or more long. The plant is a fairly well-known salad crop, often gathered from the wild but also grown commercially and sold in markets. It is also seen as a very healthy, vitamin and mineral rich food and, as such, has gained a reputation for its medicinal uses. Nasturtium officinale is widespread with stable populations and does not face any major threats.The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ]. Nasturtium officinale is often cultivated in many areas of the world as a food crop. It spreads quickly and even small stem sections, when separated from the parent plant, will readily produce new roots and become new plants. The plant has escaped from cultivation in many areas, it is reported to be a serious river-weed in New Zealand[ 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate; tropical

Native RangeEurasia - Sweden, British Isles and Portugal, east to Kazakhstan, western Himalayas and Afghanistan; N. Africa - Morocco to Egypt and Ethiopia

HabitatStream margins, ditches, flushes etc with moving water[ 17 Title Flora of the British Isles. Publication Author Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. Publisher Cambridge University Press Year 1962 ISBN - Description A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures. , 27 Title The Vegetable Garden. Publication Author Vilmorin. A. Publisher Ten Speed Press Year ISBN 0-89815-041-8 Description A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though. ], usually in chalk or limestone areas[ 52 Title Salads all the Year Round. Publication Author Larkcom. J. Publisher Hamlyn Year 1980 ISBN Description A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation. ].