Coriandrum sativum L.

Flowering & Fruiting: December-April

Annual herbs, ca. 15-50 cm; stem slender, branched, glabrous with a foetid smell. Leaves pinnately decompound; petiole ca.13 cm, shortly sheathing at base; lamina ca. 1–2 × 1–1.5 cm, ovate; pinnae broadly ovate or flabelliform, variously toothed or incised; ultimate segments broa; mid and upper cauline leaves ternate 2-3-pinnatisect, reducing up the stem; ultimate segments linear to filiform, ca. 0.2-1.5 × 0.5-0.15 cm, obtuse, entire. Flowers purplish-white, in compound umbels, ebracteate; bracteoles few, linear, calyx minutely dentate, dentitious, acute, unequal; petals obovate, rotundate, outer flowers often radiant. Fruits globose-subglobose, with 4 secondary and 5 primary subconspicuous to conspicuous ridges on each mericarp; vittae obscure.

Notes: Plains to Evergreen Forests, Cultivated, Native of Mediterranean Region

Wet places

Waste places and arable land, often by the sides of rivers.

Leaves - raw or cooked. They are used as a flavouring in salads, soups etc, and the fresh leaves are probably the most widely used flavouring herb in the world. Seed - cooked. It is used as a flavouring in many dishes including cakes, bread and curries, it is also widely used to flavour certain alcoholic liquors. The fresh seed has a disagreeable and nauseous smell, but when dried it becomes fragrant, the longer it is kept the more fragrant it becomes. The root is powdered and used as a condiment. An essential oil from the seed is used as a food flavouring. An essential oil from the seed is used as a food flavouring, in perfumery, soap making, as a medicine etc. It is also fungicidal and bactericidal. A spray made by boiling of one part coriander leaves and one part anise seeds in two parts of water is very effective against red spider mites and woolly aphids. An oil from the seed is used for making soap. The dried stems are used as a fuel.

Coriander is a commonly used domestic remedy, valued especially for its effect on the digestive system, treating flatulence, diarrhoea and colic. It settles spasms in the gut and counters the effects of nervous tension. It settles spasms in the gut and counters the effects of nervous tension. It is most often used with active purgatives in order to disguise their flavour and combat their tendency to cause gripe. The raw seed is chewed to stimulate the flow of gastric juices and to cure foul breath and will sweeten the breath after garlic has been eaten. Externally the seeds have been used as a lotion or have been bruised and used as a poultice to treat rheumatic pains. The essential oil extracted from the fruit has medicinal properties. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy. Its keyword is 'Appetite stimulant'.