Ban Dhania / Fitweed
Eryngium foetidum
Also known as Culantro, Long Coriander, Mexican Coriander
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Kerala, Assam, Mizoram & more
- Flowering
- February-November
How to identify Ban Dhania
Identify Ban Dhania by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Strap-like leaves with spiny toothed margins.
- Confirm leaf shape: Spiny margined.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Head.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: February-November.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Assam, Mizoram, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Apiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Ban Dhania.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Eryngium foetidum
- Genus
- Eryngium
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Native to
- Central America, Introduced
- Distribution
- Wide spread in tropics
- Found in India
- Kerala, Assam, Mizoram, Karnataka, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- February-November
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Spiny marginedrecorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Ban Dhania itself; the rest are typical of the Apiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower arrangement
- HeadrecordedA dense, tight cluster of many small stalkless flowers, packed into a rounded or flat head.“The flower heads are not edible.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Umbel
- Fruit
- Schizocarp
Characters marked “recorded” are for Ban Dhania itself; the rest are typical of the Apiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बन धनिया Ban dhania
- Nepali
- बन धनिया Ban dhania, बन्धना Bandhana
- Bengali
- Bon dhonia, বিলাতী ধনিয়া
- Kannada
- ಕಾಡುಕೊತ್ತಂಬರಿ, Kaadu kotthambari
- Malayalam
- ആഫ്രിക്കൻ മല്ലി, Eryngium foetidum
About Ban Dhania
Fitweed (Eryngium foetidum) belongs to the Apiaceae family, where it grows as a herb. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Assam, Mizoram and 8 other states. Flowering and fruiting run from February to November.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and distilled for an aromatic oil. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Its sap or hairs can irritate skin, so handle it with care.
Apiaceae
Carrot family
Ban Dhania belongs to the Apiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Apiaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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