Nigella

Nigella, a genus of plants of the natural order Ranunculaceæ, having five coloured spreading sepals; five or ten small two-lipped petals, with tubular claw; the carpels more or less connected together, many-seeded; the leaves divided into threadlike segments, the flowers solitary at the top of the stem or branches. They are annuals, natives chiefly of the countries near the Mediterranean and the warmer temperate parts of Asia. Some of them, occasionally seen in gardens in Britain, are vulgarly known as Devil-in-a-mist. The seeds are aromatic and somewhat peppery. Those of N. sativa, a species common in corn-fields in the south of Europe, are supposed to be the Black Cummin of the ancients, and perhaps the Cummin of the Bible.