Common Names: Coriander, Cilantro, Dhania
Species: Coriandrum sativum
Family: APIACEAE
Flower umbels of Coriander (or Cilantro for readers in the US). The flowers are good for attracting beneficial insects like hoverflies, lacewings and native stingless bees into the garden. This one was self-sown from seeds dropped by an earlier plant, but due to the heat it grew a little stunted and bolted straight to seed. Dhania is the Indian word for the seeds of Coriander which when ground are an important spice in Indian and many other ethic cuisines. I find that the seeds harvested from my plants isn't very good for eating (they get eaten by tiny insects and mouldy very quickly), but the leaves are good to grow for the flavour they bring to various dishes.
