Coriander

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), an annual plant of the natural order Umbelliferae, with branching stem, 1 to 2 feet high, the lower leaves bipinnate, the upper leaves more compound, and globose fruit. It is a native of the south of Europe and of the East, and has long been cultivated for the sake of its fruit; and has thus become naturalised in some parts of England, although its fruit (coriander seed) is much less used in Britain than in Germany and some other European countries. The whole plant, when fresh, has a very offensive smell; but the ripe and perfectly dry fruit has an agreeable aromatic smell and a sweetish aromatic taste. It is used in medicine as a carminative, and as a corrective of certain purgatives; also in domestic economy as an aromatic, being very often mixed with bread in the north of Europe; spirituous liquors are flavoured with it; and confectioners cover it with sugar to make a well-known kind of comfit. In the south of England it is common to sow coriander and caraway together, the coriander yielding a crop in the first year, and the caraway in years following. Coriander delights in a rich soil, and is much cultivated and used in India.