Editing Coriander (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Coriandrum sativum 003.JPG|thumb|225px| Coriandrum sativum Flowers]]It is a soft plant growing to {{convert|50|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the flowering stems.

The [[flower]]s are borne in small [[umbel]]s, white or very pale pink, asymmetrical, with the petals pointing away from the centre of the umbel longer ({{convert|abbr=on|5|–|6|mm|in|frac=16|disp=or}}) than those pointing toward it (only {{convert|abbr=on|1|–|3|mm|in|frac=16|disp=or}} long). The [[fruit]] is a globular, dry [[schizocarp]] {{convert|3|–|5|mm|in|frac=16|abbr=on}} in diameter.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maiti |first1=Ratikanta |title=Crop Plant Anatomy |date=2012 |publisher=CABI |isbn=978-1-78064-174-4 |page=262 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8_m7aIfR7xEC&dq=coriander+fruit+schizocarp&pg=PA263 |access-date=24 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The pollen size is approximately {{cvt|30|μm}}.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Auer |first1=Waltraud |title=- A palynological database |url=https://www.paldat.org/pub/Coriandrum_sativum/305985 |website=PalDat - A palynological database |access-date=24 July 2022}}</ref>

=== Taste and smell ===
[[File:Linalool skeletal.svg|thumb|132px|[[Linalool]], a [[terpenoid]], is a major contributor to the fragrance of coriander.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burdock |first1=George A. |last2=Carabin |first2=Ioana G. |year=2009 |title=Safety Assessment of Coriander (''Coriandrum sativum'' L.) Essential Oil as a Food Ingredient |journal=Food and Chemical Toxicology |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=22–34 |doi=10.1016/j.fct.2008.11.006 |pmid=19032971}}</ref>]]

The essential oil from coriander leaves and seeds contains mixed [[polyphenol]]s and [[Terpene|terpenes]], including [[linalool]] as the major constituent accounting for the aroma and flavour of coriander.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zheljazkov |first1=V. D |last2=Astatkie |first2=T |last3=Schlegel |first3=V |year=2014 |title=Hydrodistillation extraction time effect on essential oil yield, composition, and bioactivity of coriander oil |journal=Journal of Oleo Science |volume=63 |issue=9 |pages=857–65 |doi=10.5650/jos.ess14014 |pmid=25132088 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Different people may perceive the taste of coriander leaves differently. Those who enjoy it say it has a refreshing, lemony or lime-like flavour, while those who dislike it have a strong aversion to its pungent taste and smell, characterizing it as soapy or rotten.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rubenstein |first=Sarah |date=13 February 2009 |title=Across the Land, People Are Fuming Over an Herb (No, Not That One) |url=https://www.wsj.com/article/SB123446387388578461.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118213337/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123446387388578461 |archive-date=18 November 2015 |access-date=24 July 2012 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> Studies also show variations in preference among different ethnic groups: 21% of East Asians, 17% of Caucasians, and 14% of people of African descent expressed a dislike for coriander, but among the groups where coriander is popular in their cuisine, only 7% of South Asians, 4% of Hispanics, and 3% of Middle Eastern subjects expressed a dislike.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Lilli Mauer |author2=Ahmed El-Sohemy |date=2 May 2012 |title=Prevalence of cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) disliking among different ethnocultural groups |journal=Flavour |volume=1 |issue=8 |pages=8 |doi=10.1186/2044-7248-1-8 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=1807/86813}}</ref>

About 80% of identical twins shared the same preference for the herb, but fraternal twins agreed only about half the time, strongly suggesting a genetic component to the preference. In a genetic survey of nearly 30,000 people, two genetic variants linked to the perception of coriander have been found, the most common of which is a gene involved in sensing smells.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Francke |first1=Uta |last2=Hinds |first2=David A. |last3=Mountain |first3=Joanna L. |last4=Tung |first4=Joyce Y. |last5=Kiefer |first5=Amy K. |last6=Do |first6=Chuong B. |last7=Wu |first7=Shirley |last8=Eriksson |first8=Nicholas |date=10 September 2012 |title=A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference |journal=Quantitative Biology |language=en |arxiv=1209.2096}}</ref> The gene [[OR6A2]] lies within a cluster of olfactory-receptor genes, and encodes a receptor that is highly sensitive to [[aldehyde]] chemicals. Flavour chemists have found that the coriander aroma is created by a half-dozen substances, most of which are aldehydes. Those who dislike the taste are sensitive to the offending [[Saturated and unsaturated compounds|unsaturated]] aldehydes and, at the same time, may be unable to detect the aromatic chemicals that others find pleasant.<ref>{{cite web |author=Josh Kurz |date=26 December 2008 |title=Getting to the Root of the Great Cilantro Divide |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98695984 |work=NPR}}</ref> Association between its taste and several other genes, including a bitter-taste receptor, have also been found.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Knaapila A, Hwang LD, Lysenko A, Duke FF, Fesi B, Khoshnevisan A, James RS, Wysocki CJ, Rhyu M, Tordoff MG, Bachmanov AA, Mura E, Nagai H, Reed DR |year=2012 |title=Genetic analysis of chemosensory traits in human twins |journal=Chemical Senses |volume=37 |issue=9 |pages=869–81 |doi=10.1093/chemse/bjs070 |pmc=3589946 |pmid=22977065}}</ref>

=== Similar plants ===
* ''[[Eryngium foetidum]]'', also a member of the [[Apiaceae]], has a similar but more intense taste. Known as culantro and ''ngò gai'', it is found in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and South East Asia cuisine.<ref name="Tucker, A.O. 1992">{{cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=A.O. |last2=DeBaggio |first2=T. |year=1992 |title=Cilantro Around The World |journal=Herb Companion |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=36–41}}</ref>
* ''[[Persicaria odorata]]'' is commonly called [[Vietnamese coriander]], or ''rau răm''. The leaves have a similar odour and flavour to coriander. It is a member of the [[Polygonaceae]], or buckwheat family.<ref name="Tucker, A.O. 1992" />
* "Summer cilantro" is one common name for ''[[Porophyllum ruderale]]'' subsp. ''macrocephalum'', a member of the [[Asteraceae]], the sunflower family. This species is found growing wild from Texas to Argentina.<ref name="Tucker, A.O. 1992" />