This herb is also known as CILANTRO and CHINESE PARSLEY. Its folklore includes being put into love potions, and spells, and when added to wine-it was thought of as being a great lust potion. It was thought that when an expecting lady eats coriander, the child to be will be a genious.

Coriander has lacy-fern-like leaves with little white flowers. When starting coriander, remember that it doesn't like to be transplanted. It grows to be about 24" tall with spindley stems. It is a good herb to grow with other plants around it to help hold it up in the winds. It is a easy to grow annual, that likes lots of water. All parts of the plants are used for culinary purposes. The seeds are used in flavoring many dishes, the leaves are added to salads, and the roots are cooked like a vegetable. Coriander is one of the most common herbs in the Middle East and also in Mexico, for all the flavored dishes served there. The plant and flowers have an awful scent to them until they are dried. Then the seeds have a lemon-scented smell with seeds that look like peppercorns. It is a plant that needs full sun, moist soil and needs a little fertilization when planted.

The plant itself is quite interesting for as it grows, there are wide leaflets on the bottom and then smaller ferny leaves towards the top of the stem. The seeds are used in making teas used as a digestive aid, and it also has a sedative effect on some. The oil from the seeds is used to disguise the flavors of other medicines and the oil is also used in oinments for painful rheumatic joints and muscles.