Dhaniya / Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu & more
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Coriandrum sativum
- Genus
- Coriandrum
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Punjab
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Deeply feathery/finely dividedrecorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Dhaniya itself; the rest are typical of the Apiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
- Flower arrangement
- UmbelrecordedFlower stalks all radiate from a single point, like umbrella ribs.“The flowers are borne in small umbels, white or very pale pink, asymmetrical, with the petals pointing away from the centre of the umbel longer (5–6 mm or 3⁄16–1⁄4 in) than those p” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- SchizocarprecordedA dry fruit that splits apart at maturity into several one-seeded segments.“The fruit is a globular, dry schizocarp 3–5 mm (1⁄8–3⁄16 in) in diameter.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Umbel
- Fruit
- Schizocarp
Characters marked “recorded” are for Dhaniya itself; the rest are typical of the Apiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- dhaniya,धनिया dhaniya
- Sanskrit
- कुस्तुम्बरी
- Tamil
- கொத்தமல்லி
- Telugu
- ధనియాలు
- Kannada
- ಕೊತ್ತುಂಬರಿ
- Malayalam
- മല്ലി
- Marathi
- कोथिंबीर
- Bengali
- ধনে
- Gujarati
- કોથમીર
- Odia
- ଧଣିଆ
- Punjabi
- ਧਨੀਆ
- Assamese
- ধনিয়া
- Nepali
- धनियाँ
- Sinhala
- කොත්තමල්ලි
Dhaniya in India
Coriander is in nearly every Indian kitchen, leaf and seed alike — dhaniya (Hindi), கொத்தமல்லி (Tamil), ధనియాలు (Telugu), ಕೊತ್ತುಂಬರಿ (Kannada), മല്ലി (Malayalam), कोथिंबीर (Marathi). Coriandrum sativum is grown across Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Karnataka, in winter fields and kitchen gardens.
Uses
The fresh leaves (hara dhania / kothmir) garnish and flavour countless dishes and chutneys, while the dried round seeds (dhania) are a foundational spice, ground into masalas. The seeds also have attributed cooling and digestive uses in tradition.
How to Identify Dhaniya
A slender annual herb with two leaf forms: lower leaves broad and fan-shaped with scalloped lobes (the familiar 'dhania patta'), upper leaves finely thread-like. It carries small white-to-pink flowers in flat-topped umbels, followed by round ridged seeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is coriander called in different Indian languages?
- dhaniya (Hindi); கொத்தமல்லி (Tamil); ధనియాలు (Telugu); ಕೊತ್ತುಂಬರಿ (Kannada); മല്ലി (Malayalam); कोथिंबीर (Marathi); ধনে (Bengali); કોથમીર (Gujarati); ଧଣିଆ (Odia); ਧਨੀਆ (Punjabi); कुस्तुम्बरी (Sanskrit).
- Are coriander leaves and seeds from the same plant?
- Yes — the fresh leaves (dhania/kothmir) and the dried round seeds (dhania) both come from Coriandrum sativum, used differently in cooking.
- Is coriander the same as cilantro?
- Yes — 'cilantro' is the American name for fresh coriander leaves; in India the leaves are called hara dhania or kothmir.
Apiaceae
Carrot family
Dhaniya belongs to the Apiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Apiaceae
View all Apiaceae →Sources: GBIF — Coriandrum sativum (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Coriandrum sativum (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Coriandrum sativum (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)