Fenugreek

The seeds of a West Asian herb, also known as fenugreek (seeds).

Overview

FENUGREEK is a culinary spice, and herb, cultivated for its seed, and leaf. It is yielded from the plant Trigonella foenum-graecum L., a annual in the Fabaceae family, growing in temperate biome, with a native range of Iraq to N. Pakistan.¹

It is used primarily in curries, breads; diabetes. Its aroma is described as like burnt sugar, bitter, with a heat index of 2.²

See more in ( Citation: POWO, 2024 POWO (2024). Plants of the world online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved from http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ ; Citation: Petruzzello, 2021 Petruzzello, M. (2021). List of herbs and spices. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-herbs-and-spices-2024392 ; Citation: Wyk, 2014 Wyk, B. (2014). Culinary herbs and spices of the world. University of Chicago Press, joint publication with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ; Citation: Hill, 2004 Hill, T. (2004). The contemporary encyclopedia of herbs and spices: Seasonings for the global kitchen. J. Wiley. )

Illustration of Trigonella foenum-graecum from Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen ( Citation: 1887 Köhler, H. (1887). Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem Texte: Atlas zur Pharmacopoea germanica, austriaca, belgica, danica, helvetica, hungarica, rossica, suecica, Neerlandica, British pharmacopoeia, zum Codex medicamentarius, sowie zur Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America. Franz Eugen Köhler. Retrieved from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/623 ) II 155.

Distribution

Native and introduced habitats of Trigonella foenum-graecum³

Native areas:       Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan

Introduced areas: Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Romania, Sicilia, Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia, Baltic States, Krym, Central European Rus, East European Russia, North European Russi, South European Russi, Northwest European R, Ukraine, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Northern Provinces, Kirgizstan, Turkmenistan, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, North Caucasus, Transcaucasus, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Sinai, Turkey, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, China South-Central, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, China North-Central, Qinghai, Tibet, Xinjiang, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, West Himalaya, Myanmar, Fiji, Maryland

Bibliography