Sesame
Sesamum indicum
Also known as Gingelly Oil, Gingelly, Beniseed, Gingelly, Simsim
About Sesame
Sesame (; Sesamum indicum) is a plant in the genus Sesamum, also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods. World production in 2024 was 6.7 million tonnes (7.4 million short tons), with India, Myanmar, and Sudan as the largest producers. Sesame seed is one of the oldest oilseed crops known, domesticated well over 3,000 years ago. Sesamum has many other species, most being wild and native to sub-Saharan Africa. S. indicum, the cultivated type, originated in India. It tolerates drought conditions well, growing where other crops fail.
Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Sesamum indicum
- Genus
- Sesamum
- Family
- PEDALIACEAE
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Tropical Africa, Asia
- Distribution
- Warmer regions of the world
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Local Names
- Hindi
- gingelly, til, तिल
- Nepali
- कालो तिल
- Bengali
- তিল
- Tamil
- எள்
- Telugu
- నువ్వులు
- Kannada
- ಎಳ್ಳು
- Malayalam
- എള്ള്
- Marathi
- तीळ
Pedaliaceae
Pedalium Or Sesame Family
Sesame belongs to the Pedaliaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the PEDALIACEAE family →Snap it. Know it.
Point your camera at sesame or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.