any tropical American plant of the genus Tropaeolum having pungent juice and long-spurred yellow to red flowers
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aquatic herbs
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flowers and seeds and leaves all used as flavorings
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Nasturtium \Nas*tur"tium\, n. [L. nasturtium, for nasitortium, fr. nasus nose + torquere, tortum, to twist, torture, in allusion to the causing one to make a wry face by its pungent taste. See {Nose} of the face, and {Torture}.] 1. (Bot.) A genus of cruciferous plants, having white or yellowish flowers, including several species of cress. They are found chiefly in wet or damp grounds, and have a pungent biting taste.
2. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus {Trop[ae]olum}, geraniaceous herbs, having mostly climbing stems, peltate leaves, and spurred flowers, and including the common Indian cress ({Trop[ae]olum majus}), the canary-bird flower ({Trop[ae]olum peregrinum}), and about thirty more species, all natives of South America. The whole plant has a warm pungent flavor, and the fleshy fruits are used as a substitute for capers, while the leaves and flowers are sometimes used in salads.
Seventeen spellers, stumbling over such familiar words as "veneer" and "nasturtium" as well as less familiar ones including "seriatim" and "inumbrate," were eliminated today in the first round of the 62nd National Spelling Bee.