152 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



in early times, acd eaten with salt fish during Lent; we have no means of 

 knowing when or where it was first used for food, but it is known that it has 

 been in use a long time. It is now cultivated largely throughout Europe for the 

 table and for feed for cattle and horses. It is also found growing in a state 

 of nature. It was brought to eastern North America by British colonists, and 

 carried to other countries by emigrants from other parts of Europe. 



Use. — It is an important table vegetable, eaten with meats, as potatoes are. 

 It is prepared by simply boiling, or, after being boiled, it is sliced, and fried in 

 lard or butter, or mashed, made into balls, and fried ; it is also stewed with 

 pork, bacon, or other meats. It is extensively raised for stock. Horses, cattle, 

 and sheep are said to fatten on it with great facility, and it is especially val- 

 uable for milch cows. 



CORIANDRUM, Hoffm. Calyx-teeth conspicuous, 5 iu number. 

 Petals obcordate, turned in at the point, outer ones radiate and 

 2-parted. Fruit globose, smooth. Carpels cohering ; 5 primary ribs 

 depressed, the 4 secondary .ones more prominent; seeds concave on 

 their faces. Involucre 1-leaved or wanting. Involucels 3-leaved, 

 unilateral. Annual. 



C sativum, L. (Coriander.) Stem 1 to 2 feet high, slender, striate, and 

 branched at top. Leaves bipiunate, Avith deeply cut, wedge-shaped segments 

 below, segments of the upper leaves linear. Ovary inferior and globular, with 

 2 short diverging styles ; stigmas flat or obtuse. Stamens 5, filaments slen- 

 der, anthers roundish and yellow. Petals 5, white or purplish, obcordate, and 

 turned in at the top, outer ones 2-parted. Calyx 5-toothed ; teeth sharp and 

 unequal. Umbels terminal, rather small, rays 5 to 8, bracts about 3 in num- 

 ber. Flowers iu July. 



There are only two species of coriandrum. The C. sativum, however, fur- 

 nishes all the seeds of commerce. 



Geography . — The coriander grows well in subtropical regions, and flourishes 

 high up in the north temperate zone It is foiuid east of the Black Sea, in the 

 cultivated fields of Tartary, iu Hindustan, and Burmah, and is in cultivation in 

 middle, southern, and western Europe. It was brought by European colonists 

 to North America. 



FAijmologii. — Coriandrum is from the Greek Kopis, a bug, due to the disa- 

 greeable odor of the bruised leaves. Sativum is Latin for '• sown " or " planted." 

 Coriander, the popular name, is a corruption of the botanic name. 



History. — The home of this plant is said to be southwestern Tartary, but 

 it is now spread over western Europe, is found in all the countries of the Medi- 

 terranean, and has made its way to the gardens of North America, whence it 

 frequently escapes to the fields and roadsides in the northern and middle 

 United States. Theophrastus, who wrote about three centuries before the 

 Christian era, mentions it, and Pliny speaks of it as growing both in Italy 

 and Africa in the middle of the first century. 



Use. — The seeds and the oil of the coriander are used for flavoring desert 

 sauces, confectionery, cordials, and English gin. In Germany and the coun- 

 tries of northern Europe they are employed as a condiment in both bread and 

 cake. The ground seeds are used in the mixture known as curry powder, and 

 in other culinary mixtures. The flavor depends upon an essential oil wh'ich is 

 obtained from the seeds by distillation. 



Its medicinal properties are stimulant, carminative, sedative, and pectoral, 



