Cumin

Cumin

Scientific name: Cuminum cyminum L.

Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1981)

Kingdom:       Plantae

Division:         Tracheophyta

Class:              Dicotyledonaes

Order:            Apiales                       

Family:           Apiaceae

Genus:            Cuminum

Species :          C. cyminum

Botanical Description of Cumin

Habit: Cumin is an erect or sub-erect, small, slender, annual herb, 15-50 cm high

Root: Cumin is a thin taproot system. The tap root is light brown, variable in length, thin 3-5 mm in diameter

Stem: The stem is finely grooved and branching. It is branshed throughout, subterete and finely sulcate and in color it is gray to dark green, sometimes brownish on lower stem.

Leaf: The  blue green compound leaves alternate and are divided in thread-like segments. The blade consist of three slender filiform leaflets, each forked two to three times in to filiform lobes up to 7 mm; the petiole is terete, 2-25mm long, finely sulcate, with sheathing at the base.

Flower:   The inflorescence is a compound umbel up to 3.5 mm in diameter. The peduncle is dark green, up to 7 cm and finely sulcate. The calyx has five narrow, traingular sepals, up to 2.5 mm. The flowers are pinkish, reddish at the tip, with five equal petals, and are bisexual regular and protandrous. The five stamens have filiform filaments, the pistil hasa ribbed ovary with two styles on a conical, persistent stylopodium, and the stigma is semi-globose, with the ovary inferior.

Fruit: The fruit is ovoid, oblong, 3-6 mm in length and contains two separate carpels.  The color of fruit is yellow brown  and slightly curved, schizocarp. The testa of each carpel has four distinct ridges and five, less pronounced oil canals.

Seed: The seeds are hairy and yellow brown in colour.

Economic Importance: Widely used as spices.