Bulletin about Urban Species #085

From the Wildlife Information line at Mass Audubon:
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365 Urban Species. #325: Nasturtium

Photos by urbpan. Location: In front of an antique shop, Harvard Street, Brookline Village.

Urban species #235: Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus

This popular garden plant is attractive, easy to grow, fast-growing, hardy, and edible, making it a favorite among even novice gardeners . The flowers are used as an edible garnish, possessing a peppery taste. It grows as a weak spreading vine, or loose fragile bush. They are native to western South America, and have been widely introduced. They grow wild in the city of San Francisco, and elsewhere in California, and are considered invasive by some sources. Their roots are weak, and the plant can be easily pulled, but root fragments may resprout. The USDA reports nasturtiums growing in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, suggesting a tolerance for environments urban, rural, tropical, and cold. In places with mild winters they may grow year round. Populated areas of Easter Island were covered with thick growths of the plant when I visited in mid-winter a few years ago.

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