watercress

Home > ... > Plants and Animals > Plants > Plants > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side World Encyclopedia The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

watercress

watercress hardy perennial European herb ( Nasturtium officinale ) of the family Cruciferae ( mustard family), widely naturalized in North America, found in or around water. Often cultivated commercially for the small, pungent leaflets, it is used as a peppery salad green or garnish. Other plants of the genus are sometimes called watercress and are used similarly. Watercress was formerly used as a domestic remedy and against scurvy. The ornamental plant whose common name is nasturtium is unrelated. Watercress is classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Magnoliopsida, order Capparales, family Cruciferae.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-watercre" title="Facts and information about watercress">watercress</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"watercress." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"watercress." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (December 27, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-watercre.html

"watercress." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-watercre.html

Learn more about citation styles

watercress

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

watercress Floating or creeping plant found in running or spring waters. The succulent leaves, divided into small, oval leaflets, have a pungent flavour and are used in salads and soups. The clustered flowers are white. Height: 25cm (10in). Family Brassicaceae/Cruciferae; species Nasturtium officinale.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O142-watercress" title="Facts and information about watercress">watercress</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"watercress." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"watercress." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (December 27, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-watercress.html

"watercress." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved December 27, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-watercress.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Rate these entries|See all related entries

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Watercress: benefits for cancer protection, vision, and heart health.(Super FOODS) Magazine article from: Life Extension; 11/1/2007
	Watercress world at war over land-grown upstart.(news: FRESH) Magazine article from: Grocer; 10/10/2009
	Watercress consumption prevents DNA damage.(In The NEWS)(Report)(Brief article) Magazine article from: Life Extension; 6/1/2007

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	Watercress: clean green; pools of pure water produce peppery sprigs for summer dishes. (Food).(Sumida Farm in Oahu; watercress grower David Sumida)(includes recipes) Magazine article from: Sunset; 8/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...stems in the air to make his point: "Watercress is the cleanest vegetable around. There...gallons of water a day to grow 1 acre of watercress." Here at Sumida Farm, a 10-acre...Sumida and his sister, Barbara, grow watercress, as the family has done since 1928...
	Watercress Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 3/24/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...intuitive that something as delicate as watercress would be a member of the mustard family...comes pretty easily upon first nibble. Watercress has a bracing peppery bite that is not...INFORMATION: Move over, wheatgrass. Watercress has long been regarded by the Chinese...
	Watercress: benefits for cancer protection, vision, and heart health.(Super FOODS) Magazine article from: Life Extension; 11/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...effects. Their little-known cousin, watercress, also shows extraordinary potential...leafy green. The anticancer benefits of watercress may arise from its ability to increase...fact, growing evidence suggests that watercress may lower the risk of prostate, colon...
	Watercress allelochemical defends high-nitrogen foliage against consumption: effects on freshwater invertebrate herbivores. Magazine article from: Ecology; 12/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...defense in freshwater macrophytes is watercress (Nasturtium officinale = Rorippa nasturtium...aquaticum), an aquatic crucifer. Watercress possesses the glucosinolate-myrosinase...Feeding trials showed that senescent watercress was greatly preferred to fresh green...
	Watercress. (includes recipes and related article on cultivating watercress) Magazine article from: Country Living; 6/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...unsuccessfully attempted to cultivate watercress, a peppery perennial I'm quite fond...the smaller of the two streams. The watercress flourished for several months and then...float away. (I sometimes think beds of watercress must flourish someplace downstream...
	Pest threatens Oahu watercress Newspaper article from: Honolulu Star - Bulletin; 1/19/2002; 700+ words ; ...Oahu consumers may find locally grown watercress in short supply because crops are being...who led researchers in hunting for the watercress foe after seeing failing plants at one...aster yellows phytoplasma in the sick watercress and some adjacent weeds. Fukuda and...
	Salad season brings watercress risk; [ Newspaper article from: The Nelson Mail; 10/21/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...for many people it means gatheringfresh watercress for that fresh, peppery flavour. But the watercress you gather may be giving you more than...heavy metals. The pilot study found that watercress gathered in Lower Hutt's Waiwhetu Stream...
	While foraging the marshes for watercress, educator discovers bits of green in a white, wintry world.; Spring eternal Newspaper article from: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; 2/26/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...snip the winter miracle: vibrant green watercress growing against the stark white landscape...the next generation of greens. All watercress needs to thrive in the wild is running...Skulan notes while wading from one watercress patch to another, sinking into thick...
	Pep up your palate with spicy watercress Nutritious greens can perk up sandwiches and salads Newspaper article from: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; 7/24/1996; ; 700+ words ; Long ago, the odor of burning watercress was thought to drive away snakes...mentally ill. Folklore aside, watercress does have a kind of magical quality...It's easy to understand why watercress is such a spicy plant. It's...
	Give the green light to watercress Newspaper article from: The Record (Bergen County, NJ); 7/20/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...20-2005 Give the green light to watercress By CLARE HOWARD, Copley News Service...Section: FOOD Edtion: All Editions Watercress finger sandwiches suffer from reputation...rather than the aquatic plant itself. "Watercress rocks!" said Alice Price, a chef...