Tropaeolum majus
Common name
nasturtium
Family
Tropaeolaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
TROMAJ
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Terrestrial. Disturbed sites, especially adjacent to gardens and dumps. Shrubland, herbfield, wetland, streamsides.
Features
Scrambling or trailing, hairless, aromatic, annual or short-lived perennial, occ climbing to 2 m high. Stems succulent, to 10 m long, sap watery. Leaves distinctive, roundish shield-shaped, often slightly asymmetric, bluish below, up to 18-21 cm diam, with long stalk attached to back of leaf. Flowers solitary or 2-3 clustered, tubular, 4 cm diam, 5 irregular petals, scarlet orange or yellow, Oct- May. Seed capsule 3-sided, green, 10-14 mm long, succulent. Seeds caper-like.
Similar taxa
No species is easily confused with T. majus in NZ. Cultivated plants have many different flower colours.
Flowering
(January), October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May (December)
Flower colours
Red/Pink, Yellow
Life cycle
Perennial. Reproduces primarily via vegetative spread and fragmentation but seeds are also produced. Dispersal is through garden dumping and clonal spread and birds may disperse seeds.
Year naturalised
1883
Origin
N. Andes
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
Tolerates salt, wind, hot to cold, semi-shade, damp, physical damage, poor soils.
Foraging for nasturtium
Click on the Radio New Zealand National logo to listen to This Way Up. Simon Morton interviews Johanna Knox about foraging for nasturtium (duration: 11′14″).