Coriander Flower

Description:

Coriander, an unflattering term that derives from the Greek word for bed-bugs , which is what some people seem to have felt they smell like.

Habitat:

Yet coriander has a history far longer and more important than such rude names suggest. It originated in the lands around the Mediterranean and for centuries was much used, not just because it was so aromatic and versatile, but also because it grew easily and was abundantly available. The History of a Temptation notes that Tutankhamen's mummy was found to be treated with coriander and resins to preserve it. The Greeks and Romans used coriander a lot in their food - a Mycenaean palace built around 1300 BCE, the era of the Trojan war, has yielded tablets with storekeeping accounts that include entries, written in primitive Greek, for ko-ri-a-da-na .