Monks cress (“Kapuzinerkresse”)
Monks cress

Tropaeolum majus L. features: five-petaled flower, yellow nectar spur at flower rear, circular green leaf with veins radiating to slightly-lobed leaf margin
The picture shows monks cress (Tropaeolum majus) flowering in the Botanical Garden of the Dresden University of Technology in Saxony, Germany. The common German name for this plant species from the South American Andes is Große Kapuzinerkresse, literally meaning “large Capuchin cress.” Flowers of the genus Tropaeolum (“Gattung Kapuzinerkressen”) sometimes show a shape reminiscent of the hood of a Capuchin monk's robe—therefore the Capuchin reference in the name. The flowers have five orange petals. Each flower has an up to three centimeter long, yellow nectar spur at its rear—showing with the flower bud in the upper-left corner. The green leaves are nearly circular with slightly lobed margin. The unhidden leaf on the left side shows the characteristic veins that radiate away from a yellow-green center, which is not located exactly in the middle of the leaf. The leaf-underside is pale: see the “flipped-over” leaf underneath the bright-colored flower.

All parts of monks cress plants are edible. But don't munch away the plants found at a botanical garden display, eat your home-grown ones or enjoy monks cress flower toppings served with a garden salad ordered in a restaurant.
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Dresden's Botanical Garden
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