Culantro (Eryngium foetidum)

Walangan or culantro (Eryngium foetidum) is a plant species in Apiaceae, biennial herb, upright stem, 15-45 cm high, sturdy, green, grows well in waste places, cultivation areas, along roadsides and is considered a troublesome weed by the thorny leaves.

E. foetidum has rosulus and cauline leaves, lancet to oblong blades, up to 30 cm long, up to 5 cm wide, wrinkled to spinuloseserrate, sharp, a bone in the center, dark green and shiny.

The inflorescences are multi-head and cylindrical, 10x5 mm, lanceolate involucral bracts, exceed the head and are usually 2-3 cm long. The petals are white or greenish. The fruit is greenish, subglobose and 1.5 mm in diameter.

Culantro is widely used in seasoning and marination. The plant dries well, retains good color and taste so it is valuable in the dry herb industry. It is sometimes used as a substitute for cilantro, but has a stronger taste.

Walangan has been used in traditional medicine for burns, earaches, fever, hypertension, constipation, fits, asthma, stomach pain, intestinal worms, complications of infertility, snake bites, diarrhea, and malaria.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Subfamily: Saniculoideae
Tribe: Saniculeae
Genus: Eryngium
Species: Eryngium foetidum

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