Coriandrum is a small genus of herbs in the carrot family, Apiaceae (order Apiales, tribe Coriandreae), comprising just a few species. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1753. The genus is best known for its cultivated species, Coriandrum sativum — commonly called coriander, or cilantro for its leaves in North America — alongside a wild relative, Coriandrum tordylium.
Plants in the genus are soft, annual herbs growing to around 50 cm tall. Leaves are variable in shape: broadly lobed near the base of the plant and increasingly slender and feathery higher up the flowering stems. Small, asymmetrical umbels of white or pale-pink flowers give way to a globular, dry schizocarp fruit 3–5 mm across.
Coriandrum sativum is native to the Mediterranean Basin, though its long history of cultivation across West Asia and Southern Europe makes it difficult to pin down exactly where it grows wild versus where it was introduced. All parts of the plant are edible, and both the fresh leaves and dried seeds are widely used in cooking, appearing prominently in Peruvian, Mexican, Indian, and Southeast Asian cuisines. Some people perceive the leaves' flavor as soapy or rotten rather than fresh and citrusy, a trait linked to variation in the OR6A2 gene.
The genus has a long history of human use. Archaeological finds of coriander mericarps date back six to eight thousand years in the Levant, and quantities recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamen suggest cultivation in ancient Egypt, where the plant does not grow wild. Textual references appear in the Ebers Papyrus and in Linear B tablets from Bronze Age Greece, where it was used both as a seed spice and as a leaf herb.
Etymology
"Coriander" traces through Old French coriandre and Latin coriandrum back to Ancient Greek κορίανδρον (koríandron), possibly related to κόρις (kóris, "bed bug") for the plant's fetid smell — with the earliest attested form found in Mycenaean Greek Linear B script. "Cilantro," the common US term for the leaves, is the Spanish word for coriander and shares the same Latin root.
Distribution
The genus's cultivated species, Coriandrum sativum, is native to the Mediterranean Basin and grows wild across a wide area of West Asia and Southern Europe, though its long cultivation history blurs the line between native and naturalized range.
History
Coriander has one of the longest documented histories of any culinary herb: desiccated mericarps appear in Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in Israel (six to eight thousand years old), quantities were recovered from Tutankhamen's tomb pointing to ancient Egyptian cultivation, and Linear B tablets from Bronze Age Pylos record its cultivation in Greece for both perfume and culinary use.
Taxonomy Notes
Coriandrum L. was published by Linnaeus in 1753 (Species Plantarum 1: 256) and sits in family Apiaceae, order Apiales, tribe Coriandreae. GBIF's backbone lists 6 descendant taxa, though only a few species are currently accepted.
