Exotic Beauty (12) : Indian Cress

Exotic Beauty (12) : Indian Cress

The past 2 years I made several visits to the conservatories of the National Botanic Garden of Belgium where 10.000 (!) plant and tree species originating from the tropics and the subtropics are growing in the greenhouses over there.

Thanks to the warm and moist climate in the conservatories and the intensive maintenance, it’s really amazing what an immense great variety of exotic flowers from all over the world can be seen there, even in the cold winter season !
Flowers whose natural habitat is situated in the rainforest, the mountain forest, isolated islands, deserts, etc……. Places that most of us will never or seldom visit.
Some of the flowers are very rare, extremely colourful or specially shaped.
Others were introduced in Europe by men and became a cultivated species or ornamental houseplant.

I selected the –to my personal taste- most beautiful flowers that I saw there and made a series of them.

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Dutch name : Oostindische kers
German name : Grosse Kapuzinerkresse
Latin name : Tropaeolum majus

Country of origin : Andes mountains, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia

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Both leaves and flowers are edible and can be used in salads, giving a peppery taste.
In its natural habitat, the Indian Cress is an important source of food for Hummingbirds who like to insert their long bills into the flower spurs to sip the nutritious nectar.