Floridata explains: The herb, Coriandrum sativum, gives us two distinctly different flavors for the kitchen. The lacy foliage is "cilantro", a parsley-like garnish with a distinctive, fresh fragrance that is indispensable in Mexican and Southeast Asian salads, soups, and meat dishes. The dried seeds are "coriander", a pleasantly aromatic spice that is much used in European and Middle Eastern stews, sausages, sweet breads and cakes. Coriander is a delicately branched annual that reaches a height of 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) with a spread of 1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m). It often becomes top heavy and falls over, sprawling along the ground and sending up branches like so many new plants. The lower leaves of coriander are lobed, about 1-2 in (2.5-5.1 cm) across, and look a little like Italian parsley (Petroselinum crispum). The upper leaves are finely dissected into linear segments and almost fernlike. The white or pink flowers are tiny and borne in numerous compound umbels (flat-topped clusters in which the flower stems arise from a single point). The flower clusters are only about 1-2 (2.5-5.1 cm) across, but are so abundant that the whole plant is quite showy. The seeds are contained in spherical yellowish brown pods that are ribbed and rough textured, and about an eighth inch in diameter. Location Coriander is one of two species in the genus Coriandrum that are native to southern Europe and the western Mediterranean region. Coriander was cultivated in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome for culinary and medicinal uses, and is one of the oldest spices mentioned in recorded history, with evidence of its use more than 5000 years ago. Today coriander is grown almost everywhere (except Japan) for the leaves (cilantro), or the seeds (coriander), or both. Culture Coriander is extremely easy to grow in almost any soil. It grows quickly, producing harvestable cilantro (the leaves) in a month or so and coriander (the seeds) in about 90 days. Light: Coriander does well in full sun to partial shade. Moisture: Coriander grows best in dry climates, with well drained soil, but appreciates regular watering. It suffers during humid, rainy weather. Hardiness: Coriander is an annual that can tolerate light frosts, but suffers under high temperatures and humidity. It is planted in spring in USDA hardiness zones 3-8 and in fall or winter in zones 9-11. Propagation: Sow seeds where the plants are to be grown after the last expected frost. Coriander freely self-sows and in Mexico and Central America it is often allowed to perpetuate itself in unkempt, semi-weedy garden plots not far from the kitchen.