Japanese name: コバノオランダガラシ（小葉阿蘭陀芥子） Scientific name:Nasturtium microphyllum
[Overview]
A perennial 20–50 cm tall, growing in colonies at the water's edge or in water, with stems that creep or float.
The stems are hollow and spread by producing fibrous roots from the nodes.
The leaves are alternate and odd-pinnately compound, with 1–5 pairs of leaflets.
The leaf surface is slightly glossy and the margins are wavy.
Racemes at the stem tips bear many white four-petaled flowers.
The petals are about 5 mm long.
There are 6 stamens, of which 4 are long and 2 short (tetradynamous), and there are large nectaries at the base of the short stamens.
The fruit is a linear silique 1–2 cm long, containing seeds in two rows.
[Uses]
In Europe and America, the pungent stems and leaves are, like those of Oranda-garashi (Kuresson), added to salads or used as a garnish for meat dishes.
[History]
Plants that were cultivated for food have become naturalized and spread along riverbanks and ditches in various places.
