Cumin

Cumin, or Cummin (Cuminum Cyminum), an annual umbelliferous herb, indigenous to Upper Egypt, with multifid leaves having filiform segments and elongated fruits, the halves of which (mericarps), erroneously called "seeds," are used in the manufacture of curry powder, and in veterinary medicine. These "seeds" are larger, lighter in colour, and hotter in taste than caraways, being two lines in length, and each of them has nine longitudinal ridges instead of five, with an oil-channel or vitta beneath each ridge. Cumin was esteemed as a carminative in ancient times, and as a spice in the Middle Ages. Britain now imports from 400 to 500 tons annually, chiefly from Mogador, Malta, and Sicily.