Watercress is a perennial herb in the family Cruciferae, which is inherent to Europe. The leaves are consumed as salad greens or steamed and processed as vegetables. It possesses a huge amount of Vitamin C, folic acid, iron, iodine, protein, calcium well as sulphur. Watercress also possesses anticancer and anti-oxidant properties. It could be found clumps, flowing and freshwater.
| Name | Watercress |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Nasturtium officinale |
| Native | Native to Western Asia, Europe, India and Africa. Today it is distributed around the whole world. |
| Common/English Name | Water cress, Common cress, Garden cress |
| Name in Other Languages | Arabic: barbeen, Armenian: jhri godem, Cantonese: sai yeung choi, Dutch: waterkers, Farsi: tazer alaf shesmeh, Finnish: isovesi krasi, French: cresson de fontaine, German: brunnenkresse, Greek: nerokardamo, Hebrew: garga hanazir, Indonesian, Malaysian: selada air/ayer, Japanese: votakuresu, Lithuanian: vaistino rezuiko, Mandarin: shui jee cai, Norwegian: bronnkarse, Portuguese: agriao, Russian: kress vodianoj, Slovenian: vodna kresa, Spanish: berro di agua/crenchas, Swedish: kallfrane, Tagalog: lampaka, Thai: phakat nam, Turkish: su teresi Sanskrit: Waspushpa, Hindi: Chansur, Punjabi: Halo, Marathi: Ahaliv, Gujrati: Ashelio, Sindhi: Thahio, Malayalam: Ahanlive, Bengali: Halim, Arabic: Vajrul, Pharsi: Tukht Ispandan |
| Plant Growth Habit | Aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial |
| Soil | Wet, rich |
| Plant Size | 16 inches (41 cm) |
| Root | Thin, fibrous, white, thin and abundant |
| Stem | 10-60 cm |
| Leaf color | Shiny, green |
| Leaf shape and size | Alternate, pinnate, alternate; Length: 6 inches |
| Flowering Season | Spring, summer |
| Flower | White, 4 pedals; Length: 3-5 mm |
| Fruit size | Length: 10-25 mm; Width: 2 mm |
| Flavor/aroma | Peppery |
| Taste | Pungent or bitter (Leaves) |
| Varieties/Types |
|
| Major Nutritions (Raw) | Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 85 µg (70.83%) Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) 14.6 mg (16.22%) Vitamin A, RAE 54 µg (7.71%) Calcium, Ca 41 mg (4.10%) Manganese, Mn 0.083 mg (3.61%) Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 0.044 mg (3.38%) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.041 mg (3.15%) Copper, Cu 0.026 mg (2.89%) Phosphorus, P 20 mg (2.86%) Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 0.031 mg (2.58%) |
| Health Benefits |
|
| Calories in 1 cup chopped (34 gm) Raw | 4 Kcal. |