Editing Tropaeolum (section)

== History ==
''Tropaeolum'' was introduced into Spain by the Spanish botanist [[Nicolás Monardes]], who described it in his  ''[[Historia medicinal de las cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales]]'' of 1569, translated into English as ''Ioyfull newes out of the newe founde worlde'' by [[John Frampton]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Frampton|first=John|url=https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu%3A213358#page/Page+5/mode/2up|title=Joyfull newes of the newfound world|year=1580}}</ref> The English herbalist [[John Gerard]] reports having received seeds of the plant from Europe in his 1597 book ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes''.<ref name=Woodward>{{cite book |title=Leaves from Gerard's Herball arranged for garden lovers |url=https://archive.org/details/leavesfromgerard00gera |url-access=registration |last=Woodward |first=M. |year=1969 |publisher=Dover publications Inc., New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/leavesfromgerard00gera/page/168 168–169] |isbn=9780486223438 }}</ref> ''Tropaeolum majus'' was named by the Swedish botanist [[Carl Linnaeus]], who chose the genus name because the plant reminded him of an ancient custom: After victory in battle, the Romans erected a trophy pole (or ''tropaeum'', from the Greek [[tropaion]], source of English "[[trophy]]") on which the vanquished foe's armour and weapons were hung. The plant's round leaves reminded Linnaeus of shields and its flowers of blood-stained helmets.<ref name=World>{{cite book |title=Flowers of the World |last=Perry |first=Frances |year=1972 |publisher=The Hamlyn Publishing Group |isbn=978-0600355922 |pages=298–300 }}</ref>Nasturtiums were once commonly called "Indian cresses" because they were introduced from the Americas, known popularly then as the Indies, and used like cress as salad ingredients. In his herbal, John Gerard compared the flowers of the "Indian Cress" to those of the [[Consolida regalis|forking larkspur]] (''Consolida regalis'') of the [[Ranunculaceae|buttercup family]].<ref name=World/> He wrote: "Unto the backe part (of the flower) doth hange a taile or spurre, such as hath the Larkes heele, called in Latine ''Consolida regalis''."<ref name=Woodward/>

[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] commented that an alternative anglicization of "nasturtium" was "nasturtian".<ref>{{ME-ref|Letters|Letter 148 of 7 August 1954}}</ref>