Tropaeolum

This article is about the flowering plants of the genus Tropaeolum, commonly called nasturtiums. For the genus of watercresses, see Nasturtium (plant genus).

Tropaeolum
Tropaeolum majus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Tropaeolaceae
Juss. ex DC.
Genus: Tropaeolum
L.
Type species
Tropaeolum majus L.[1]
Species

About 80 species, see text.

Synonyms
  • Magallana Cav.
  • Trophaeastrum Sparre
Tropaeolum majus

Tropaeolum /trəˈpiːələm, troʊ-/,[2][3] commonly known as nasturtium (/nəˈstɜːrʃəm, næ-/;[4][5][6] literally "nose-twister" or "nose-tweaker"), is a genus of roughly 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants. It was named by Carl Linnaeus in his book Species Plantarum,[7] and is the only genus in the family Tropaeolaceae. The nasturtiums received their common name because they produce an oil similar to that of watercress (Nasturtium officinale).

The genus Tropaeolum, native to South and Central America, includes several very popular garden plants, the most common being T. majus, T. peregrinum and T. speciosum. One of the hardiest species is T. polyphyllum from Chile, the perennial roots of which can survive the winter underground at elevations of 3,300 metres (11,000 ft).

Plants in this genus have showy, often intensely bright flowers and rounded, peltate (shield-shaped) leaves with the petiole in the centre. The flowers are bisexual and zygomorphic, with five petals, a superior three-carpelled ovary, and a funnel-shaped nectar spur at the back, formed by modification of one of the five sepals.[8]

  1. ^ Tropaeolum | International Plant Names Index. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2023, from https://www.ipni.org/n/30002592-2
  2. ^ "Tropaeolum". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  3. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. 606–607; "Tropaeolum". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ "nasturtium". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  5. ^ "nasturtium". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  6. ^ "Nasturtium". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  7. ^ Linnæus, Carl (1753-05-01). Species Plantarum : exhibentes plantas rite cognitas ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas [The Species of Plants] (in Latin). Vol. 1. Stockholm, Sweden: Laurentius Salvius. p. 345.
  8. ^ Heywood, V.H.; Brummitt, R.K.; Culham, A.; Seberg, O. (2007). Flowering plant families of the world. Firefly Books. p. 324. ISBN 978-1554072064.