Coriander

Coriander, common name for an annual herb of the parsley family that grows to a height of about 30 to 90 cm (about 12 to 36 in). The lower leaves are divided into fine, threadlike partitions; the white and pink flowers grow in small, loose clusters. Native to Europe and Asia Minor, coriander has become naturalized in the United States. It is cultivated for its fruit, the dried seeds of which, also called coriander, are used as a spice in a wide variety of foods, and for its pungent leaves, called cilantro, a basic ingredient in Latin American and Asian cooking. Oil that is extracted from the seed is used in the preparation of liqueurs and is a medicine for abdominal discomfort.

Cress

Cress, common name for a number of herbs, most of which are used as garnishings or in salads for their pungent flavor and high vitamin C content. One of the most common cresses is watercress, a perennial that grows in brooks and springs or in wet ground. Garden cress, also called peppergrass, is an Asian annual sometimes cultivated in the United States. A similar native species is wild peppergrass, a common weed. The various species known as bitter cress include the cuckooflower, found in bogs and other wet areas in the northern United States. Indian cress is known as nasturtium, although it is not related to the garden nasturtium.

Scientific classification: Cresses belong to the family Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae). Watercress is classified as Nasturtium officinale, garden cress as Lepidium sativum, wild peppergrass as Lepidium virginicum, and the cuckooflower as Cardamine pratensis.

Dill

Dill, common name for an annual or biennial herb of the parsley family. It grows wild in grainfields of southern Europe, the British Isles, and the United States and is also cultivated as an herb. Dill has a strong, aromatic taste; its leaves are used for flavoring pickles and sauces.

Scientific classification: Dill belongs to the family Apiaceae (formerly Umbelliferae). It is classified as Anethum graveolens.

Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm, also bee herb or sweet balm, a culinary and medicinal herb, member of the mint family. Lemon balm is native to southern Europe and northern Africa, and east as far as the Caucasus and northern Iran. The lemon-scented leaves add flavor to jellies, liqueurs, fruit salads, and cold drinks. The dried leaves make a tea that reportedly soothes cold symptoms, fevers, and headaches. The strongly scented leaves are also used in perfumes and natural cosmetics, and their juice takes the sting out of insect bites. Fruit growers sometimes plant lemon balm in orchards to attract bees to pollinate their crops. It grows best in infertile, moist soils in slightly shady areas, but will tolerate drought, full sun, and moderate shade. Plants can survive winter temperatures as low as -34°C (-30°F), but grow poorly in semitropical and tropical regions.

Lemon balm is a perennial herb—that is, one that lives at least three years. It is bushy and upright, reaching a height of about 1 m (about 3 ft). The soft, hairy leaves are 2 to 8 cm (0.8 to 3.0 in) long and either heart-shaped or rounded at the base and pointed at the tip. The leaf surface is coarse and deeply veined, and the leaf edge is scalloped or toothed. The leaves grow on the stem in pairs, opposite each other. Clusters of 4 to 12 small, white or pale pink flowers blossom in the summer. Like other plants in the mint family, lemon balm flowers consist of a long tube divided at the end into two flaring lips. Because lemon balm reseeds freely, it can become weedy in a garden.

Scientific classification: Lemon balm belongs to the family Lamiaceae (formerly Labiatae). It is classified as Melissa officinalis.

Marjoram

Marjoram, common name for any of a genus of perennial herbs of the mint family. The herbs, native to Eurasia, are cultivated in the United States for the highly aromatic young leaves, which are used either fresh or dried as a seasoning. The flowers, which are borne in spikes, have a five-toothed calyx (outer floral envelope) and a two-lipped corolla (inner floral envelope). Either two or four stamens (male flower part) and a solitary pistil (female flower part) are present. The fruit is an achene (dry and one-seeded). The wild marjoram, more commonly called oregano, is a perennial; sweet marjoram is an annual, or frost-free, perennial.

Scientific classification: Marjorams belong to the family Lamiaceae (formerly Labiatae). Wild marjoram is classified as Origanum vulgare. Sweet marjoram is classified as Origanum majorana.

Mint

Mint (plant), common name for a family of woody or herbaceous flowering plants of worldwide distribution, and for its well-known genus. Members of the mint family often contain aromatic oils, and many (often of Mediterranean origin) are cultivated as culinary herbs. These include marjoram and oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, savory, and basil. The mint genus itself contains many well-known cultivated species: peppermint, spearmint, and pennyroyal. These and other members of the family, such as lavender and shellflower, are grown as ornamentals.

The family belongs to an order comprising more than 10,000 species, which, although placed in 4 families, are contained primarily in the 3 largest: the mint family, with 5,600 species; the verbena family, with 1,900 species; and the borage family, with 2,500 species. The lennoa family contains only 6 species—fleshy root parasites that lack chlorophyll. The order characteristically has opposite, decussate leaves (pairs of leaves at right angles to one another), and the stems are often squarish in cross section. The sepals (outer floral whorls) and petals (inner floral whorls) are fused into tubes that usually have four or five lobes, or lips, and are irregular (bilaterally symmetrical). The two, four, or five stamens (male flower parts) are attached to the inside of the corolla tube, which is made up of the fused petals. The ovary (female flower part) is superior—that is, borne above and free from the other flower parts—and has two carpels (ovule-bearing flower parts).

Scientific classification: Mints make up the family Lamiaceae (formerly Labiatae) of the order Lamiales. The well-known mint genus is Mentha. Peppermint is classified as Mentha piperita, spearmint as Mentha spicata, and pennyroyal as Mentha pulegium. Lavender is classified in the genus Lavendula and shellflower in the genus Molucella.

Mustard

Mustard, common name for a large family of pungent-juiced herbs, important for the many food plants and other crops it produces, and for its representative genus. The family contains about 390 genera and 3,000 species. It is cosmopolitan in distribution, with centers of diversity in the Mediterranean region and southwestern and Central Asia, where about two-thirds of the species occur.

Most members of the mustard family are annual or perennial herbs; a few are shrubs or climbers. The flowers are characteristic and distinctive. Four petals are arranged opposite one another in the form of a cross. Six stamens are arranged in pairs. The filaments of the outer pair are short, whereas those of the two inner pairs are longer. The fruit is typically a capsule with two chambers divided by a false septum; at maturity, it splits in two from the bottom. Many variations on this basic fruit type are found in the family, and characteristics of the fruits are heavily used in distinguishing and classifying the various members.

The mustard family contains a great variety of food plants, but they do not form important parts of staple diets. Best known are the salad and vegetable crops, such as cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kohlrabi, all of which are varieties of the wild cabbage native to coastal Britain and southern Europe. Table mustard is prepared from powdered seeds of two other species, black mustard and white mustard. Black mustard is a shaggy, many-branched plant, growing to about 1 m (about 3 ft) high, with dark-green lyre-shaped and lanceolate leaves, small yellow flowers, and short seedpods pressed against the stems. White mustard is a somewhat smaller plant, with similar leaves, larger flowers, and bristly pods. Another important species, curled mustard or mustard greens, has large cleft leaves and is used as a vegetable. Turnip, radish, cress, and watercress are other vegetable members of this family.

Scientific classification: Mustard is the common name for the family Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae) and its representative genus Brassica. Wild cabbage is classified as Brassica oleracea, black mustard as Brassica nigra, and white mustard as Brassica hirta. Curled mustard, or mustard green, is classified as Brassica juncea variety crispifolia.