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Trachyspermum ammi

Common name:		Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	(L.)Sprague. ex Turrill.	Botanical references:	272
Synonyms:	Trachyspermum copticum ((L.)Link.), Carum copticum ((L.) Benth. & Hook. f. ex C.B. Clarke.), Ammi copticum (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe to eastern Asia in the Himalayas.
Habitat:	Damp ground[238].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Carum ajowan[G] Ptychotis ajowan[H] Sison ammi[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ajowan [H,E], Ameos [E], Carvi Oriental [E], Dipyaka [E], Hajimuju [E], Jemuju [E], Kamune Muliki [E], Moengsi [E], Mosi [E], Mungsi [E], Musi [E], Nankhah [E], Oost-Indische Kummel [E], Ostindischer Kummel [E], Remuju [E], Zinyan [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Arabic Europe France Germany India India(Santal) Iran Java Malaysia Netherlands Us

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.6m by 0.4m . It is frost tender. It is in flower from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Condiment.

The pungently aromatic fruits are about 2cm long[238]. They are used as a flavouring in savoury dishes, including curries, pulses, breads and pastry snacks[238].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiseptic Antispasmodic Aromatic Bitter Diaphoretic Digestive Diuretic Expectorant Tonic.

The seed, and especially the essential oil in the seed, is strongly antiseptic, antispasmodic, aromatic, bitter, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, expectorant and tonic[238]. It is used internally in the treatment of colds, coughs, influenza, asthma, diarrhoea, cholera, colic, indigestion, wind, oedema, arthritis and rheumatism[238, 240]. The seed is harvested when fully ripe and either distilled for the essential oil or dried for later use[238].
The seed contains about 4 - 6% essential oil, of which 45 - 55% is the strongly antiseptic essential oil 'thymol'[240]. The essential oil is also added to cough medicines[238].
The root is carminative and diuretic[240].

Other Uses

Essential.

The seeds are rich in essential oil, 30 - 35% of which is thymol[240], which is more commonly found in Thymus species[238]. The essential oil is added to epoxy derivatives[238].

Cultivation details

Requires a moist soil in a sunny position[238].
This species is not frost tolerant[238], but it might be possible to grow it outdoors in Britain as a spring sown annual[K].
The plant is extensively cultivated as a spice in S. W. Asia.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species, but suggest that you try sowing the seed in situ in April. If this is not successful, then an earlier sowing in the greenhouse in March, planting out after the last expected frosts might be better[K]. It is quite possible that this species will not like to be transplanted, so either sow 4 - 5 seeds per pot, or sow in a tray and transplant to individual pots as soon as the seedlings are big enough to handle[K].

Scent

Seed:: No details on scent.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Ammi copticum (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Carum copticum (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Trachyspermum copticum (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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