Happily and energetically ...

Scientific name: Tropaeolum majus

Garden Nasturtium, Indian Cress or Monks Cress are bright and happy flowers. From the naturally occurring Nasturtium many cultivars and types have been evolved including climbing types, dwarfs, bushy ones, etc. The leaves are large and circular with several veins radiating to the rounded margin. Flowers are 2.5 to 6 cm in diameter with five petals, eight stamens and 2.5-3 cm long nectar spur at the rear. They come in a kaleidoscope of colors including russet, pink, yellow, orange, scarlet and crimson, frilled and darker at the base of the petals. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and as a medicinal plant. As their leaves and flowers are edible; they can be used in salads, imparting a delicately peppery taste. My friend who hails from Madurai (Tamil Nadu) introduced this plant to me when i was working in Silkworm Seed Technology Laboratory, Bangalore, as he was maintaining the same in a beautiful inbuilt wall container. Quite often it was bearing many flowers. I wish to dedicate this to him. This photograph was taken on 3rd October 2011 from the Dussehra flower show at Mysore.