(Nasturtium officinale), perennial plant, of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout North America in cool, flowing streams where it grows submerged, floating on the water, or spread over mud surfaces. Watercress often is cultivated in tanks for its young shoots, which are used in salads. The plant bears four-petalled, white flowers and delicate, light-green, peppery-flavoured leaves rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Seedpods are small and beanlike, with two rows of seeds. Watercress roots freely from the stems.