watercress
Watercress is a leafy green that grows in cool, running water. While eaten worldwide, in Appalachia and the South it was often gathered wild from creeks and springs, served fresh or cooked as part of a mess of greens.
Hillbilly Dude Says...
We used to pull 'watercress' out of the branch when I was a kid. It probably doesn't happen as much as it used to. Pronunciation
[WAH-ter-cress]
Meaning & Usage
- A leafy green plant (noun)
Mae:
What’s in this salad?
What’s in this salad?
Earl:
Just watercress from the branch out back.
Just watercress from the branch out back.- Wild-harvested greens in Appalachia and the South (noun, regional use)
Mae:
Where’d you get all that?
Where’d you get all that?
Earl:
Went down and cut a mess of watercress in the creek.
Went down and cut a mess of watercress in the creek.other spellings: wild watercress, spring cress, creek greens, and cress greens
★ In mountain kitchens, watercress wasn’t just bought - it was foraged. Kids often got sent to "cut a mess of cress" from cold creeks near home. ★
Origin
The plant itself comes from Europe and Asia, but it naturalized widely in the U.S. In Appalachia and the South, it became part of the foraging tradition, gathered wild from clean spring-fed streams.
Notes
Still eaten today, but mostly store-bought. The old tradition of harvesting it wild from creeks is fading, though remembered fondly in Appalachian families.
Say It Like a Southerner
Said plain: "wah-ter-cress" (often shortened to "wartercress" in mountain speech).