Coriander

A plant, Coriandrum sativum, from which the spice coriander and the herb cilantro are derived. The leaves, stems and root of the plant are usually called cilantro (although they are sometimes, confusingly, referred to as fresh coriander or Chinese parsley); the seeds are dried and ground and always referred to as coriander. The plant is native to southern Europe and the Middle East.

The word "coriander" purportedly refers to a likeness to the odor of bedbugs, but this refers to the leaves, not the seeds. That, in any case, was the conviction of the ancient writers, who pointed out a tie between the spice's Greek name, koriandron, and koris, the Greek word for "bedbug." If true, this would also make coriander a linguistic relative of the flower coreopsis, whose name literally means "bedbug-like", since the minuscule, horned seeds of this yellow flower look like little bugs with antennae - which is why this flower also goes by the name tickseed.

Coriander was listed in the Ebers Papyrus, a treatise that was contemporary with Moses. The leaves, mentioned by almost all writers of antiquity, have one of the longest recorded histories of any herb and were compared to the manna eaten by the children of Israel. Coriander seeds have been found among funeral offerings in Egyptian tombs. From the land of the Pharaohs, in all probability, the herb came into use by the ancient Hebrews, who made it one of the bitter herbs involved in the ritual of Passover. Even today, the Chinese believe that coriander seeds can grant immortality; they have been using the plant as far back as the Han dynasty (207 BC-AD 220). The leaves of this plant are now thought of as typical of Arab, Chinese, South American and Indian cookery, but it has been forgotten that they were a favorite herb among the Hebrew, Greek and Roman people. The ancients recommended that the seeds be eaten by expectant mothers to produce ingenious and witty offspring. William Turner warns, "Coriander taken out of season doth trouble a man's witt with great jeopardy of madness", but since he neglects to say what the season is, we have to take our chances. Many others cultures developed coriander concoctions out of their belief that it aroused passion. This rumor may well have commenced with The Arabian Nights, the Arabian fantasy in which coriander was referred to as an aphrodisiac. It became popular in 17th-century Paris, where it was the principal ingredient in eau de carnes, a concoction that could be used either as a liqueur or as a cologne. The leaves are also used in making liqueurs, and the writers of antiquity claimed that they made wine stronger and more exhilarating. Coriander is thought to have many medicinal virtues, as a stimulant, a digestive, a carminative and a bactericide.

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