Herb Fact Sheet

Nasturtium or Indian Cress

Tropaeolum majus

Native habitat

Peru, but widely cultivated all over the world

Growing conditions and Propagation

• Will grow anywhere - gardens, window boxes, likes most soils
• Easily grown from seeds; will self-seed

Parts used

• Leaves and flowers in salads
• Leaves, flowers and seeds in medicines
• Pickled seeds as a substitute for capers in sauces 

Capers are the edible buds of the caper plant. They are pickled and used in sauces such as tartare sauce, which people like to eat with fish and chips.

Properties

• Leaves contain vitamin C and iron
• Seeds are antiseptic and fight bacteria
• They are usually crushed and made into pills

Uses

• Leaves, flowers, seeds in salads
• Flowers also used to decorate salads
• In medicines seeds are used to treat bronchitis and urinary infections
• Flowers and leaves to make a tisane (herbal tea)
• Used to fight bronchitis and flu and the common cold
• Used fresh to make poultices
• Use 1-2 tspns fresh leaves in boiling water to make a tea.

Folklore

It was said that a lotion make from the leaves, flowers and seeds, when mixed with nettle leaves and three oak leaves, would prevent baldness!

Nasturtium in flower

Use 1-2 tspns fresh leaves in boiling water to make a tea

In days gone by a lotion including nasturtium flowers was thought to prevent baldness

Activities

Grow some from seeds directly in the ground in the Spring. You only need to do this once! They seed themselves very easily.