40 NASTURTIUM. No. 65. 



Linnaeus thought proper to reject ; tbig was united to 

 Siaymbrhm, and thus this plant is the Sis^/mbrium pa- 

 lustre of the Linnaean botanists 5 but Jussieu, Decan- 

 dolle, &c. have found needful to restore the G. nastur- 

 tium. The common Water cress is the N, officinale or 

 Sm/mbrium naaturllum of L.; it differs from this by- 

 white flowers and pinnate cordate leaves. They both 

 grow near, or in water brooks, swamps, ponda, in Nortli 

 America and Europe. The N. amphihiiim is also com- 

 mon to both continents, and a few peculiar spcci«^» or 

 .^rieties are spread through the United States, not yet 

 veil distinguished. My N. diffusum and N. arcualum 

 ow in the Western States. The iV. tuberosum of my 

 lora Ludov. belongs to a peculiar subgenus, with a 

 rounded notched silique ; I call it Brachobium. All these 

 plants blossom generally in June and July, but the JV. 

 tuberosem in February. They are alike in taste and 

 properties. They can all be eaten in sallad, and form a 

 good spring diet. Their taste is warm, pungent, and 

 somewhat acrid, like that of Lepidium and Radishes, 



but by no means unpalatable, and mixed with a sweet 

 juicy flavour. 



PROPERTIES. A mild stimulant, diuretic, anti- 

 scorbutiMc, deobstruent, abstergent, hepatic, and stoma- 

 u '?■ r The whole plants must be used fresh, in sallad or 

 their fresh juice, since these properties are lost by dryine 

 and boding. The leaves may be found all 4e year 

 round, but are best in the spring ; they are then a very 

 useful diet for those who have scorbutic affections and 

 spots, spungy gums, liver complaints, scorbutic rheuma- 

 tism, pitmtous asthma, &c. Water cresses are excellent 

 and mi der substitutes to horse radish or cochlearia, 

 mustard, and scurvy grass, in almost all cases, except 

 palsy. Their active properties reside, as in all the 

 ^.ucderous, m an acrid volatile oil, containing sulnhur 

 and an ammoniacal salt. *^ 



Water cresses were formerly used f;)r many other dis- 



Sion ^'T'^' **^'*«!;^*^^^ affections, diarrhia, and ob- 

 suSiS P^jyP"^'/;d even worms; but these are not 



Theya^e Zh^ ■''^ ^^T T^^*^^ ^" *^«^« complaints, 

 war^ id t^^^yrltl 'S?/'^'" t"'^'hs, which the V 



« revive. All the cruciferous plants which 



in 



