Watercress

Watercress
Nasturtium officinale
Leaves
Closeup photograph of watercress inflorescence with several white flowers and many flower buds
Flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Brassicales
Family:Brassicaceae
Genus:Nasturtium
Species: N. officinale
Binomial name
Nasturtium officinale
Synonyms[1]

Watercress or yellowcress is an aquatic plant species with the botanical name Nasturtium officinale. This should not be confused with the profoundly different and unrelated group of plants with the common name of nasturtium, within the genus Tropaeolum.

Watercress is a rapidly growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plant native to Europe and Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by humans. It is a member of the family Brassicaceae, botanically related to garden cress, mustard, radish, and wasabi—all noteworthy for their piquant flavor.

The hollow stems of watercress will float; the leaf structure is pinnately compound. Small, white and green flowers are produced in clusters and are frequently visited by insects, especially hoverflies such as Eristalis flies.[2]

Taxonomy

Watercress is also listed in some sources as belonging to the genus Rorippa, although molecular evidence shows the aquatic species with hollow stems are more closely related to Cardamine than Rorippa.[3] Despite the Latin name, watercress is not particularly closely related to the flowers popularly known as nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus); T. majus belongs to the family Tropaeolaceae, a sister taxon to the Brassicaceae within the order Brassicales.

Cultivation

Watercress beds in Warnford, Hampshire, England

Cultivation of watercress is practical on both a large-scale and a garden-scale. Being semi-aquatic, watercress is well-suited to hydroponic cultivation, thriving best in water that is slightly alkaline. It is frequently produced around the headwaters of chalk streams. In many local markets, the demand for hydroponically grown watercress exceeds supply, partly because cress leaves are unsuitable for distribution in dried form, and can only be stored fresh for a short period.

Watercress can be sold in supermarkets in sealed plastic bags, containing a little moisture and lightly pressurised to prevent crushing of contents. This has allowed national availability with a once-purchased storage life of one to two days in chilled or refrigerated storage.

Also sold as sprouts, the edible shoots are harvested days after germination. If unharvested, watercress can grow to a height of 50 to 120 centimetres (​1 1⁄2–4 ft). Like many plants in this family, the foliage of watercress becomes bitter when the plants begin producing flowers.

Concerns

Watercress crops grown in the presence of manure can be an environment for parasites such as the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica.[4] By inhibiting cytochrome P450 (CYP2E1), compounds in watercress may alter drug metabolism in individuals on certain medications such as chlorzoxazone.[5]

Distribution

In some regions, watercress is regarded as a weed, in other regions as an aquatic vegetable or herb. Watercress has been grown in many locations around the world.

In the United Kingdom, watercress was first commercially cultivated in 1808 by the horticulturist William Bradbery, along the River Ebbsfleet in Kent. Watercress is now grown in a number of counties of the United Kingdom, most notably Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset. The town of Alresford, near Winchester, holds a Watercress Festival that brings in more than 15,000 visitors every year, and a preserved steam railway line has been named after the local crop. In recent years, watercress has become more widely available in the UK, at least in the southeast; it is stocked pre-packed in some supermarkets, as well as fresh by the bunch at farmers' markets and greengrocers.

Alresford in the U.K. is considered to be that nation's watercress capital.[6] In the United States in the 1940s, Huntsville, Alabama, was locally known as the "watercress capital of the world".[7]

Nutrition

Watercress, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 46 kJ (11 kcal)
1.29 g
Sugars 0.2 g
Dietary fiber 0.5 g
0.1 g
2.3 g
Vitamins Quantity %DV†
Vitamin A equiv.
20%
160 μg
18%
1914 μg
5767 μg
Thiamine (B1)
8%
0.09 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
10%
0.12 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
6%
0.31 mg
Vitamin B6
10%
0.129 mg
Folate (B9)
2%
9 μg
Vitamin C
52%
43 mg
Vitamin E
7%
1 mg
Vitamin K
238%
250 μg
Minerals Quantity %DV†
Calcium
12%
120 mg
Iron
2%
0.2 mg
Magnesium
6%
21 mg
Manganese
12%
0.244 mg
Phosphorus
9%
60 mg
Potassium
7%
330 mg
Sodium
3%
41 mg
Other constituents Quantity
Water 95 g
Full Link to USDA Database entry
†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Watercress is 95% water and has low contents of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and dietary fiber. A 100-gram serving of watercress provides 11 calories, is particularly rich in vitamin K, and contains significant amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, and manganese (table).

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Plant List, Nasturtium officinale R.Br.
  2. ↑ Van Der Kooi, C. J.; Pen, I.; Staal, M.; Stavenga, D. G.; Elzenga, J. T. M. (2016). "Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers". Plant Biology. 18 (1): 56–62. doi:10.1111/plb.12328. PMID 25754608.
  3. ↑ Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A.; Price, Robert A. (1998). "Delimitation of the Genus Nasturtium (Brassicaceae)". Novon. 8 (2): 124–6. doi:10.2307/3391978. JSTOR 3391978.
  4. ↑ "DPDx - Laboratory Identification of Parasitic Diseases of Public Health Concern: Fascioliasis". US Centers for Disease Control. 29 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Leclercq, Isabelle; Desager, Jean-Pierre; Horsmans, Yves (1998). "Inhibition of chlorzoxazone metabolism, a clinical probe for CYP2E1, by a single ingestion of watercress". Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 64 (2): 144–9. doi:10.1016/S0009-9236(98)90147-3. PMID 9728894.
  6. ↑ Peters, Rick (30 March 2010). "Seasonal food: watercress". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Huntsville's Missile Payload", MotherJones.com, July 2001.
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