Common Names: Nasturtium 'Jewel Mix', Garden Nasturtium, Indian Cress, Monks Cress
Species: Tropaeolum majus
Family: TROPAEOLACEAE
A close up shot of a yellow cultivar of common Nasturtium sold in mixed seed packs under the name Jewel Mix. I tend to find that the ones that do best in my climate here in Brisbane, Australia are the yellow, orange and red flowered ones. The cream, apricot and maroon flowered ones which are also shown on the pack as part of the mix never seem to do as well, they seem to either fail to germinate and thrive or perhaps they were never actually present in very large quantities in the seed mix to begin with. The leaves, flowers and green seeds are all edible and have a spicy mustard/pepper taste, the flowers being the mildest of the three. The green, immature seeds can be collected and pickled and used as a substitute for capers. Watching the small native sting-less bees try to navigate through the fringes at the base of the lower petals is quite fascinating, the large European bees on the other don't have any problems and barge right through to reach the pollen and nectar within.
