Eryngium foetidum
Encyclopedia
Eryngium foetidum is a tropical perennial
and annual
herb
in the family Apiaceae
. It is native to Mexico
and South America
but is cultivated worldwide. In the United States
, where it is not well known, the name culantro sometimes causes confusion with Coriandrum sativum
(also in Apiaceae), the leaves of which are known as cilantro, and which culantro is said to taste like.
Countries Eryngium foetidum is also referred to as shadon, shado beni (or shadow benny), or bandhania (in Trinidad
).
Other common names include: culantro (Panama); Recao (Puerto Rico); culantro de pata (Honduras); culantro coyote (Costa Rica); cilantro ancho (Dominican Republic); alcapate (El Salvador); long, wild, or Mexican coriander; samat (Guatemala); culantro burrero (Venezuela); fitweed; spiritweed; duck-tongue herb; sawtooth or saw-leaf herb, sawtooth coriander; cilantro cimarron; chardon benit (French chardon béni); recao (Puerto Rico); sachaculantro (Peru); bhandhanya (Hindi); donnia; Andu-kola, ngò gai (Vietnam); Txuj Lom Muas Loob los yog Nplooj Hniav Kaw (Hmong),chi barang (Khmer:ជីរបារាំង), and pak chi farang ; pak horm phay (Lao: ຜັກຫອມເປ).
E. foetidum is widely used in seasoning and marinating in the Caribbean
, particularly in Trinidad and Tobago
. It is also used extensively in Thailand
, India
, Vietnam
, and other parts of Asia
as a culinary herb. This variety of coriander dries well, retaining good color and flavor, making it valuable in the dried herb
industry. It is sometimes used as a substitute for cilantro, but it has a much stronger taste.
In the United States, Eryngium foetidum grows naturally in Florida
, Georgia
, Hawai'i, Puerto Rico
, and the Virgin Islands
. It is sold in grocery stores as a culinary herb under the common names; "culantro" and/or "recao" .
Eryngium foetidum is also known as Eryngium antihystericum. The name Eryngium antihystericum reflects the fact that this plant has traditionally been used as a treatment for epilepsy
. The plant is said to calm a person's spirit and thus prevents epileptic fits (seizures
). The plant is therefore known by the common names spiritweed and fitweed. The anticonvulsant properties of this plant have been scientifically investigated. A decoction
of the leaves has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory
and analgesic
effects.
Eryngial is a patented extract of Eryngium foetidum. Dr. Ralph Robinson, a Professor of Parasitology at the University of the West Indies
at Mona, Jamaica
, has investigated the use of Enyngial as a treatment for human Strongyloides stercoralis
infection (strongyloidiasis
). A fraction of the essential oil rich in eryngial is the subject of a US patent application for its effectiveness against parasitic trypanosomes, nematodes, fungi and bacteria in humans and other mammals.
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
and annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
herb
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
in the family Apiaceae
Apiaceae
The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
. It is native to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
but is cultivated worldwide. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where it is not well known, the name culantro sometimes causes confusion with Coriandrum sativum
Coriander
Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
(also in Apiaceae), the leaves of which are known as cilantro, and which culantro is said to taste like.
Common names
In English-speaking CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
Countries Eryngium foetidum is also referred to as shadon, shado beni (or shadow benny), or bandhania (in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
).
Other common names include: culantro (Panama); Recao (Puerto Rico); culantro de pata (Honduras); culantro coyote (Costa Rica); cilantro ancho (Dominican Republic); alcapate (El Salvador); long, wild, or Mexican coriander; samat (Guatemala); culantro burrero (Venezuela); fitweed; spiritweed; duck-tongue herb; sawtooth or saw-leaf herb, sawtooth coriander; cilantro cimarron; chardon benit (French chardon béni); recao (Puerto Rico); sachaculantro (Peru); bhandhanya (Hindi); donnia; Andu-kola, ngò gai (Vietnam); Txuj Lom Muas Loob los yog Nplooj Hniav Kaw (Hmong),chi barang (Khmer:ជីរបារាំង), and pak chi farang ; pak horm phay (Lao: ຜັກຫອມເປ).
Culinary
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, particularly in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. It is also used extensively in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and other parts of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
as a culinary herb. This variety of coriander dries well, retaining good color and flavor, making it valuable in the dried herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
industry. It is sometimes used as a substitute for cilantro, but it has a much stronger taste.
In the United States, Eryngium foetidum grows naturally in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Hawai'i, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
. It is sold in grocery stores as a culinary herb under the common names; "culantro" and/or "recao" .
Traditional medicine
Ethnomedicinal uses include treatment for burns, earache, fevers, hypertension, constipation, fits, asthma, stomach ache, worms, infertility complications, snake bites, diarrhea and malaria.Eryngium foetidum is also known as Eryngium antihystericum. The name Eryngium antihystericum reflects the fact that this plant has traditionally been used as a treatment for epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
. The plant is said to calm a person's spirit and thus prevents epileptic fits (seizures
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
). The plant is therefore known by the common names spiritweed and fitweed. The anticonvulsant properties of this plant have been scientifically investigated. A decoction
Decoction
Decoction is a method of extraction, by boiling, of dissolved chemicals, or herbal or plant material, which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes. Decoction involves first mashing, and then boiling in water to extract oils, volatile organic compounds, and other chemical substances...
of the leaves has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation as opposed to opioids, which affect the central nervous system....
and analgesic
Analgesic
An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....
effects.
Eryngial is a patented extract of Eryngium foetidum. Dr. Ralph Robinson, a Professor of Parasitology at the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
at Mona, Jamaica
Mona, Jamaica
Mona is a neighbourhood in southeastern Saint Andrew Parish, approximately five miles from Kingston, Jamaica. A former sugar plantation, it is the site of a reservoir serving the city of Kingston and of the main campus of the University of the West Indies...
, has investigated the use of Enyngial as a treatment for human Strongyloides stercoralis
Strongyloides stercoralis
Strongyloides stercoralis, also known as the threadworm, is the scientific name of a human parasitic roundworm causing the disease of strongyloidiasis....
infection (strongyloidiasis
Strongyloidiasis
Strongyloidiasis is a human parasitic disease caused by the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis, or sometimes S. fülleborni. It can cause a number of symptoms in people, principally skin symptoms, abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight loss...
). A fraction of the essential oil rich in eryngial is the subject of a US patent application for its effectiveness against parasitic trypanosomes, nematodes, fungi and bacteria in humans and other mammals.
See also
- Cuban cuisineCuban cuisineCuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisines. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish and African cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. This results in a unique, interesting and flavorful blend of the several different cultural influences...
- Cuisine of the Dominican Republic
- Puerto Rican cuisine
- Thai cuisine
- Vietnamese cuisine
External links
- Long Coriander (Eryngium foetidum L.) page from Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
- Mexican Coriander (Eryngium foetidum L.) page Information on the various common names of "Long Coriander" & cultivation tips.