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Tropaeolum majus or Nasturtium
Tropæolum majus. Greater Indian-Cress, or Nasturtium
Class and Order
Octandria Monogynia
Generic Character
Calyx 1-phyllus, calcaratus. Petala 5 in æqualia. Baccæ tres, siccæ
Specific Character and Synonyms
TROPÆOLUM majus foliis peltatis subquinquelobis, petalis obtusis.
Lin. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 357. Sp. Pl. p. 490.
CARDAMINDUM ampliori folio et majori flore. Grande Capucine
Tournef. Inst. p. 430.
The present plant is a native of Peru, and is said by Linnæus to
have been first brought into Europe in the year 1684; it is
certainly one of the greatest ornaments the Flower-Garden can boast:
it varies in color, and is also found in the Nurseries with double
flowers. The former, as is well known, is propagated by seed; the
latter by cuttings, which should be struck on a hot-bed. To have
these plants early, they should be raised with other tender annuals;
they usually begin to flower in July, and continue blossoming till
the approach of winter: the stalks require to be supported, for if
left to themselves they trail on the ground, overspread, and destroy
the neighboring plants.
Elizabeth Christina, one of the daughters of Linnæus, is said to
have perceived the flowers to emit spontaneously, at certain
intervals, sparks like those of electricity, visible only in the
dusk of the evening, and which ceased when total darkness came on.
The flowers have the taste of water-cress, with a degree of
sweetness, which that plant does not possess, more particularly
resident in the spur of the calyx or nectary; hence are sometimes
used in salads, and hence the plant acquires its name of Nasturtium.
The Botanical Magazine or Flower-Garden
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