Tropaeolum
A genus of flowering plants with edible flowers and tubers.
Last updated
Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tropaeolum is a genus of about 80 species native to South America in the family Tropaeolaceae.[1] The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus because the plant reminded him of an ancient Roman trophy pole.[2]
Scientific classification
- CladeTracheophytes
- CladeAngiosperms
- CladeEudicots
- CladeRosids
- OrderBrassicales
- FamilyTropaeolaceae
- GenusTropaeolum
Named by L.
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Tropaeolum (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quick Facts
- Type species
- Tropaeolum majus L.; Tropaeolum
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
The common nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is the most easily encountered member of this family.[1] Per "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Botany" (1992) and McClintock's Jepson Flora Project entry, Tropaeolum consists of dicotyledonous plants that are either annual or perennial, frequently possessing somewhat fleshy stems and, in some cases, tuberous roots.[3] The same sources describe the leaves as arranged alternately, being smooth, shield-shaped, and either fully or palmately lobed.[3] The flowers, as noted in those references, are bisexual and striking, appearing individually on elongated stalks that emerge from the leaf axils.[3]
These flowers possess five sepals, with the topmost sepal being drawn out into a spur that contains nectar.[3] The five petals each have a narrow base (claw), and the three lower petals differ in form from the two upper ones.[3] The fruit is without a covering, resembles a nut, and consists of three separate, single-seeded segments.[3] According to the same source, tuberous species of Tropaeolum are known for sometimes staying dormant for a year or longer.[4]
What the specialist sources record
The Pacific Bulb Society notes that Tropaeolum is a genus of about 80 species native to South America in the Tropaeolaceae family.[1] The Pacific Bulb Society states that the bright flowers of quaint shapes are usually freely produced on long stalks.[1] The Pacific Bulb Society reports that growing Tropaeolum from seed is one of the best ways to propagate them because of the slow vegetative division of the rootstock in some species.[1] The Pacific Bulb Society lists species such as T. austropurpureum, T. azureum, T. hookerianum, T. brachyceras, and T. tricolor as needing part to full sun.[1]
The Pacific Bulb Society records that T. austropurpureum, Tropaeolum hookerianum and T. azureum are from coastal habitats and are not hardy.[1] The Pacific Bulb Society describes Tropaeolum azureum as a slender, tender climbing species from Chile with lavender-violet blue flowers with white eyes that can be as large as 4 cm.[1] The Pacific Bulb Society notes that Tropaeolum brachyceras is another half hardy native of Chile, with yellow flowers with purplish markings up to 25 mm.[1]
References
- "Tropaeolum: Tropaeolum tricolor", Pacific Bulb Society. facts only, no text reused. pacificbulbsociety.org
- Wikipedia, "Tropaeolum" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Linnæus, "Species Plantarum: exhibentes plantas rite cognitas ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas", Laurentius Sal (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Tropaeolum" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Botany", Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 418; McClintock, Elizabeth, "Tropaeolaceae: Nasturtium Family", Jepson Flora Project (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Tropaeolum" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Tropaeolum", Pacific Bulb Society (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Tropaeolum (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Tropaeolum (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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