Black cumin

Black Cumin (Nigella Damascena) is a spice that grows wild in the Mediterranean region. Sometimes called Nigella or love-in-a-mist, it is unrelated to common cumin (Cuminum Cyminum).

Nigella is an annual herbaceous plant that grows to about a foot high. It has a thin stem, laciniate leaflets, and distinctive black-spotted, blue flowers. The "seeds" used as a spice are found in the follicles on the flowers. The plant often grows as a weed.

Black cumin has a pungent bitter taste and a faint smell of strawberries. It is used primarilly in candies and liquors. In herbal medicine, black cumin has hypertensive, carminative, and anthelminthic properties.