Indian cress (Tropaeolum majus), also known as monks cress, nasturtium, or garden nasturtium, is a flowering plant species from the Tropaeolaceae family native to the Andes from Bolivia to Colombia.
The short-lived perennial or easy-growing annual with disc-shaped foliage and bright orange or red flowers are cultivated, possibly origin hybrid.
The species was initially called Indian nasturtium (Nasturtium Indicum), but the plant is not related to the true genus nasturtium. It is a species in a genus of around 80 species[1] of herbaceous plants.
The current name of the genus Tropaeolum was coined by Linnaeus, and it means “small trophy“. It is an herbaceous plant with sprawling or creeping stems growing to 0.5-2 m long. Its rounded leaves (4 to 15 cm in diameter) have slightly or wholly lobed edges.
These leaves are borne on long stems that adhere to the center of the underside. Its conspicuous red, yellow, or orange flowers (2.5 to 7 cm in diameter) have a narrow and long spur (2.5 to 4 cm long) at the base.
