Celery (Apium graveolens)

Celery (Apium graveolens) is a hardy biennial—occasionally annual—native to southern Europe and widely cultivated in various sections of this country for its fleshy leafstalk, which is used as a vegetable. Cultivars of the species have been used for centuries, whilst others have been domesticated only in the last 200-300 years.

Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall. The leaves are pinnate to bipinnate leaves with rhombic leaflets 3-6 cm long and 2-4 cm broad. The flowers are creamy-white, 2-3 mm diameter, produced in dense compound umbels. The seeds are broad ovoid to globose, 1.5-2 mm long and wide. The plants are raised from seed, sown either in a hot bed or in the open garden according to the season of the year, and after one or two thinnings out and transplantings they are, on attaining a height of 15-20 cm, planted out in deep trenches for convenience of blanching, which is affected by earthing up to exclude light from the stems.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Apiales
Family : Apiaceae
Genus : Apium
Species : Apium graveolens

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Apiaceae (ay-pee-AY-see-ay) - The Apium (celery) family (formerly Umbelliferae).
• Apium (AY-pee-um) - The ancient Latin name for celery or parsley.
• graveolens (grav-ee-OH-lens) - Heavy scented, unpleasant smell.

Common Names:

• Celery

Links:

• Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages - Celery
• PROTAbase - Celery

Image Courtesy of Stephen Buchan.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a woody, perennial herb, native to Portugal and the Mediterranean area, with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs. Forms range from upright to trailing; the upright forms can reach 1.5 m tall, rarely 2 m. The leaves are evergreen, 2-4 cm long and 2-5 mm broad, green above, and white below with dense short woolly hairs. The flowers are variable in colour, being white, pink, purple, or blue.

Rosemary is best appreciated as an aromatic culinary spice that adds distinctive flavour to chicken, breads, and many other foods. Well known to ancient peoples, this plant has also been touted as an herbal remedy for a variety of ailments, such as improving memory, relieving muscle pain, and stimulating the circulatory and nervous systems.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Lamiales
Family : Lamiaceae
Genus : Rosmarinus
Species : Rosmarinus officinalis

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Lamiaceae (lay-mee-AY-see-ay) - The Mint family (from Lamium, the Latin name for dead nettle; used for the Mint family); formerly Labitae.
• Rosmarinus (rose-ma-REE-nus) - Dew of the sea.
• officinalis (oh-fiss-ih-NAH-liss) - Official, used in pharmacological sense.

Common Names:

• Rosemary

Links:

• Floridata - Rosemary
• Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages - Rosemary
• Garden Guides - Rosemary

Image Courtesy of volar.

Kokum (Garcinia indica)

Kokum (Garcinia indica) is a slender evergreen small tree with drooping branches. It is a deciduous tree growing up to 18 m high. The fruit is spherical, purple, not grooved having 5-8 seeds compressed in an acid pulp.

Kokum is a fruit tree, of culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. The tree is also ornamental, with a dense canopy of green leaves and red-tinged tender emerging leaves. It is indigenous to the Western Ghats region of India, along the western coast. It is found in forest lands, riversides, and wasteland, and also gets cultivated on a small scale. It does not require irrigation, spraying or fertilizers.

The ripened, rind and juice of Kokum fruit are commonly used in cooking. The dried and salted rind is used as a condiment in curries. It is also used as a garnish to give an acid flavour to curries and for preparing attractive, red, pleasant flavoured cooling syrup. Kokum butter used as an edible fat, is nutritive, demulcent and antiseptic. The rind has antioxidant property

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Malpighiales
Family : Clusiaceae
Subfamily : Clusioideae
Tribe : Garcinieae
Genus : Garcinia
Species : Garcinia indica

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Garcinia (gar-SIN-ee-uh) - Named for Laurent Garcen, 18th century French botanist who travelled extensively in India.
• indica (IN-dih-kuh) - Of or from India.

Common Names:

• Brindonia Tallow, Indian Tallow Tree, Goa-Butter, Indian Berry, Kokam, Kokum, Red Mango (English)
• Vrikshamla (Sanskrit)
• Kokum (Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi)
• Amsol, Katambi, Kokum, Ratamba (Marathi)
• Murgal (Tamil)
• Punampulli, Kokkam (Malayalam)
• Dhupadamara, Murgala, Murginahali, Murginahulimara, Punarpuli, Ratambi, Tittidika (Kannada)

Links:

• National Medicinal Plants Board - Kokum
• Encyclopedia of Spices - Kokum
• Indian Spices - Kokum
• IndiaNetZone Spices - Kokum

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)

Nutmegs belong to Myristica genus of evergreen trees indigenous to tropical south east Asia and Australasia. They are important for two spices derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace.

Nutmeg is the actual seed of the tree, roughly egg-shaped and about 20–30 mm long and 15–18 mm wide, and weighing between 5 and 10 grams dried, while mace is the dried “lacy” reddish covering or arillus of the seed.

Several other commercial products are also produced from the trees, including essential oils, extracted oleoresins, and nutmeg butter.

The most important species commercially is the Common or Fragrant Nutmeg Myristica fragrans, native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia; it is also grown in the Caribbean, especially in Grenada. Other species include Papuan Nutmeg M. argentea from New Guinea, and Bombay Nutmeg M. malabarica from India; both are used as adulterants of M. fragrans products.

Nutmeg and mace have similar taste qualities, nutmeg having a slightly sweeter and mace a more delicate flavor. Mace is often preferred in light-coloured dishes for the bright orange, saffron-like colour it imparts. In Indian cuisine, nutmeg is used almost exclusively in sweets. It is known as jaiphal in most parts of India. It is also used in small quantities in garam masala.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Magnoliales
Family : Myristicaceae
Genus : Myristica
Species : Myristica fragrans

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Myristica (my-RIS-ti-kuh) - From the Greek myristikos (fit for annointing); the fruit of M. fragrans is the source of nutmeg.
• fragrans (FRAY-granz) - Fragrant.

Common Names:

• Jaiphal, Taifal, Kathal (Hindi)
• Jatiphala (Sanskrit)
• Atipalam, Jatikkai, Jatippu (Tamil)
• Zaophal, Jathikka (Malayalam)
• Jakayi, Jatiphala (Kannada)

Links:

• Spice Pages - Nutmeg
• Encyclopedia of Spices - Nutmeg
• The Vaults of Erowid - Nutmeg

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) (sometimes written cummin) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to East India.

It is a herbaceous annual plant, with a slender branched stem 20-30 cm tall. The leaves are 5-10 cm long, pinnate or bipinnate, thread-like leaflets. The flowers are small, white or pink, and borne in umbels. The fruit is a laterall fusiform or ovoid achene 4-5 mm long, containing a single seed. Cumin seeds are similar to fennel seeds, but are smaller and darker in colour.

Cumin seeds are used as a spice for their distinctive aroma, popular in North African, Middle Eastern, western Chinese, Indian and Mexican cuisine.

Cumin fruits have a distinctive bitter flavour and strong, warm aroma due to their abundant essential oil content. Today, cumin is identified with Indian cuisine and Mexican cuisine. It is used as an ingredient of curry powder. Cumin can be found in some Dutch cheeses like Leyden cheese, and in some traditional breads from France. In herbal medicine, cumin is classified as stimulant, carminative, and antimicrobial.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Apiales
Family : Apiaceae
Genus : Cuminum
Species : Cuminum cyminum

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Apiaceae (ay-pee-AY-see-ay) - The Apium (celery) family (formerly Umbelliferae).
• Cuminum (KOO-min-um) - From the Greek kyminon.
• cyminum (SIM-in-um) - Another word for Cumin.

Common Names:

• Jeera, Safaid jeera (Hindi)
• Jiira, Jiiraka, Jiirana, Sugandhan, Udgaarshodan (Sanskrit)
• Jiragam (Tamil)
• Jirakam (Malayalam)
• Jirige (Kannada)

Links:

• Spice Pages - Cumin
• Encyclopedia of Spices - Cumin
• Growing Taste - Cumin