Species on this page ( A = names approved by most authorities, s = approved as synonyms) :

 
• Cuminum cyminum L. A
• Cuminum cyminum L. 'Shah Jeera' nom. illeg. -> Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B. Fedtsch.
• Cuminum hispanicum Bunge -> Cuminum cyminum L. A
• Cuminum odorum Salisb. -> Cuminum cyminum L. A

   

SYNONYM(S) : Ligusticum cuminum (L.) Crantz, Cuminia cyminum J. F. Gmel., Cuminum odorum Salisb., Cuminum hispanicum Bunge

ARABIC :  كَمُّون    Kamoun, Kamun,   Kammûn (cammun, kamoun, kammoon),  Sannût.

ARMENIAN :  Քիմոն   Kimon.

BENGALI :   Jiraa (Jeera).

BULGARIAN :   Кимион  Kimion, Кимион римски Kimion rimski , Кимион италиански  Kimion italianski.

BURMESE : Ziya.

CHINESE :    Ou shi luo, 馬芹  Ma qin (Ma ch'in),  苋蒿   Xian hao,   香旱芹  Xiang han qin, 孜然  Zi ran.

CROATIAN :  Kumin.

CZECH :  Římský kmín, Šabrej kmínovitý.

DANISH : Spidskommen, Kloeftsvoeb.

DUTCH : Komijn .

ENGLISH : Cumin, Roman caraway.

ESTONIAN :  Juustuköömen, Vürtsköömen.

FINNISH :  Juustokumina, Kumina, Maustekumina, Roomankumina.

FRENCH : Cumin, Cumin de Malte, Cumin blanc, Cumin du Maroc, Faux anis.

GERMAN : Kreuzkümmel, Römischer Kümmel, Weißer Kreuzkümmel.

GREEK :   Κύμινο   Kimino,  Κύμινον  Kiminon.

GUJARATI :  Jiru.

HEBREW :   כמון      Camon (Kamon, Kamoon, Kammon, Kammun), Camon tarbuti.

HINDI :   Jiiraa (Jeera), Zeera (zira, ziira),   Safed ziiraa (Safed zira), Safed jiiraa (Safaid jeera ).

HUNGARIAN : Borsos kömény, Egyiptomi kömény, Kuminmag, Római kömény.

ICELANDIC :  Ostakúmen, Kummin.

ITALIAN : Comino, Comino bianco, Comino romano, Cumino.

JAPANESE : Hime unikyoo, Kumin.

KANNADA :  ಜೀರಿಗೆ   Jeerige (Jirige).

KHMER : Ma chin.

LAOTIAN : Thien khaw .

MALAY : Jintan, Jintan putih, Jintan puteh, Jinten (Indonesia), Jinten putih (Indonesia).

MALAYALAM : Jeerakam (Jirakam).

MARATHI :  जिरे   Jire.

NEPALESE :   जीरा  Jiiraa.

NORWEGIAN : Spisskarve, Spisskummen.

PERSIAN :  زیره      Zireh (Zire, Zira),    زیره سبز   Zireye sabz (Zireh sabz).

POLISH : Kmin, Kmin rzymski, Kminek.

PORTUGUESE : Cominho.

PUNJABI :   ਜੀਰਾ  Jiira.

RUSSIAN :   Кмин  Kmin,  Кмин римский   Kmin rimskii, Кмин тминовый   Kmin tminovyi (Kmin tminovyj).

SANSKRIT :    अजाजी  Ajaji,       जारण  Jarana,  Jiraka,   जिरण   Jirana,   जीर्ण  Jirna ,       सुगंध   Sugandha.

SINHALESE : Sududuru.

SLOVAKIAN :  Džíra, Rasca rímska.

SLOVENIAN :  Kumina, Orientalske kumina, Zamorska kumina.

SPANISH : Comino, Comino blanco .

SWAHILI :  Jamda, Jira, Kisibiti .

SWEDISH : Pepparkummin, Romerks kummin, Spiskummin, Vit kummin.

TAMIL :   ஜீரகம்  Jirakam (Jeerakam),   சீரகம்  Cirakam (Shiragam) .

TELUGU :  జీలకర   Jiraka,  జీలకర్ర    Jilakarra.

THAI :   ยี่หร่า  Yee raa,  เทียนขาว  Thian khao.

TURKISH :  Kimyon.

UKRAINIAN :  Кмин  Kmin.

URDU : Ziraa (Jirah, Zeera).

Photographs and descriptions at Gernot Katzer's Spice site.

* There is a lot of confusion between the names of Nigella sativa L. and a dark-seeded cultivar / variety of "cumin" grown in Northern India, Kashmir, Pakistan and Iran. In a number of Indian languages the name kala jeera (black cumin) is applied to several very different spices. The seeds of Nigella are very black and onion-seed like hence the Hindi name Kalonji. The seeds of the true black cumin are dark or coffee coloured, but not truely black, and long in shape like the common cumin seeds. In Europe where the true black cumin is little known many of the names are wrongly attributed to Nigella sativa L. We have tried to sort the names to some extent.

EURODICAUTOM, On-line Technical Dictionary in 12 languages provided by the European Commission < http://eurodic.echo.lu/cgi-bin/edicbin/EuroDicWWW.pl?page=expert > (Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Latin with authority names)

Katzer Gernot, 2001, Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages. < http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Cumi_cym.html > & < http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/spice_indic.html >.

Mabberley D.J. 1997, The Plant-Book : a Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants, 2d Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.

Shiva Vandana, 2003, Glossary, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, New Delhi, India.

Solomon Charmaine, 1996, Charmaine Solomon's Encyclopedia of Asian Food, Hamlyn.

USDA, ARS, 2000, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxdump.pl? Cuminum (11 October 2001).

Wiersema J. H. & León B. 1999, World Economic Plants : a Standard Reference. CRC Press LLC.

Xie Zongwa & Yu Youqin (Editors), 1996, Materia Medica, Chinese Terminology, Vol. 1, Renminweisheng Publishing House Beijing, China. (Latin with authority names and Chinese-simplified, text in Chinese).

Contributors to this page (Personal communication) : In progress.

Date created: 05 / 06 / 2001
Authorised by Prof. Snow Barlow
Last modified: 04 / 09 / 2006
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