Originally from the Mediterranean region this annual is widely grown in India, Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. It is a member of the parsley family (Apiaceae) and related to carrots, celery, cilantro, and dill. As a medicinal herb it is used for curing a wide variety of ills from tumors to flatulence. The plants are highly branched and about two feet tall by sixteen inches wide. The finely cut leaves are pinately compound and the small white flowers are produced in mid-summer in compound umbels of sixteen umbletes each with sixteen flowers. The tear-shaped, light brown seeds (actually fruits) have aphrodisiac properties and contain the oil thymol used in cough syrups. They are also valued as a spice and are added to vegetable and carbohydrate recipes where they provide a pungent peppery thyme-like flavor.
Type: Annual herb grown for seed
Bloom: Small white flowers in compound umbels
Size: 1-3′ H x 12- 15″W
Light: Full sun
Soil: Average, moist to dry
Care: Low maintenance
Hardiness: Not applicable; frost tender
Pests and Diseases: Not known
Propagation: Seed