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.