Nasturtium officinale R.Br., Brassicaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum (L.) Hayek

Common name(s): [more details]

English: watercress

French: cresson, cresson d'eau, cresson de fontaine

Hawaiian: lēkō

Japanese: chisa, kawara-chisa

Spanish: berro, berro común, berro de agua, berros

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Perennial aquatic or semiaquatic herb, prostrate, glabrous.  Leaves pinnately compound; leaflets usually 3-7, ovate to broadly oblong, to 2 inches x 1 inch, terminal leaflet usually larger than laterals.  Flower petals white, to 0.15 inch long.  Fruit narrowly linear, flattened, 0.4-0.6 inches long, 0.09-0.12 inches wide.  Seeds in 2 rows per cell, reddish brown, surface with 25-50 reticulations on each side:  (Staples & Herbst, 2005).

"An aquatic, perennial herb with a creeping rhizome.  The stems are hollow, angular, 10-60 cm long, rooting at nodes and then ascending or floating; the petals are white; and the siliques are 1-2 cm long"  (Smith, 1981; pp. 709-710).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Caledonia, "Le cresson de fontaine, assez rarement naturalsé aux bords des ruisseaux à courant faible." (MacKee, 1994; p. 45).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Indigenous in Europe and western Asia, now cultivated and often naturalized in many other parts of the world" (Smith, 1981; pp. 709-710).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Santiago Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (pp. 709-710) Infrequently naturalized.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 288) Naturalized
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 45) Vouchers cited: Däniker 2864, MacKee 8077
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 186)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 186)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 186)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 246)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 186)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/naturalisé"
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 47)

Comments:  Naturalized and more or less invasive in La Réunion per Christophe Lavergne, pers. com.

Additional information:
Photos and additional information from Missouri Plants.

Additional online information about Nasturtium officinale is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Nasturtium officinale as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Nasturtium officinale may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum (L.) Hayek

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias. 1988. Dicot weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 335 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. 1983. Vegetation of Frégate Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1981. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 2. 810 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.