Lagoecia cuminoides aka Common Wild Cumin

Lagoecia cuminoides is known as wild cumin. It is an annual plant in the Apiaceae family. Both Kew and RHS list it in this family. Its native range spans the Mediterranean to western and southern Iran. In Europe, records list Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria. To the east, they list Turkey, Syria, Israel, Iraq, and Iran. It is not native to Britain or Ireland. Kew places it in a subtropical climate zone.

Wild cumin grows to about 1 foot [0.3 metres] tall. As an annual, it lives its full life within one growing season. The sources give no width or full account of its shape. They do not describe its stems, bark, or leaves. Its flowers have both male and female organs. This tells us about the parts of the flower. It does not show how pollen moves between those parts. The evidence gives no bloom months or facts about fruit.

In Israel, wild cumin grows among herbs and in Mediterranean batha vegetation. Plants For A Future lists garden beds as a place to grow it. It says the plant can grow in sun or light shade. It can grow in sand, loam, and clay soils. The stated soil pH spans mildly acid, neutral, and mildly alkaline. It prefers moist soil. The sources give no rating for cold hardiness. They give no advice on frost, feeding, or pruning.

The seed has a recorded food use in place of cumin. Plants For A Future gives its edibility a low score: one out of five. The entry then describes true cumin's uses in cooking and flavouring. This does not show that wild cumin has those same uses. The supported food use extends only to seed as a condiment. The source lists no known uses as medicine or for other purposes.

Growers raise it from seed, but the evidence gives no sowing method or time. Plants For A Future gives no further advice on growing it. It reports no known hazards, but this is not a safety assessment. The evidence does not show that it is safe for people or pets. It gives no account of pests or diseases. The source does not flag a risk of becoming a weed. No source describes a specific role for it as a garden ornament beyond growing it in beds.