Talk:Elwendia persica

Could a native speaker please clarify what 'kala zeera' refers to. The bag of kala zeera that I bought the other week contains B. persicum, not N. Sativa.

Kala zeera applies to black cumin B. Persicum in most of North India, but is not the same as caraway which is only found by roadsides in India, not as a crop (private email with Edinburgh Botanical Gardens). Nigella sativa, also known erroneously in India and other countries, as black onion seed (not related) is known as kala zeera (other spellings) in Bengal.

I bought 100 grams of "Kali Ziri" for about $2.50 USD and know it's not Nigella sativa, but this Wikipedia article makes me think it's not Elwendia persica either. Bunium persicum is in the third reference of this article right now, but it's attached to a sentence containing the words "Nigella sativa"

We essentially have three plant botanical names, but only two Wikipedia articles. 174.249.210.5 (talk) 23:39, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

explosive?

Having googled extensively for info on black cumin as a sensitizer, I am not finding anything that says whether nigella or bunium is meant. Does someone know for sure? -- WormRunner 07:48, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

Have removed this para until it can be found out - MPF 12:40, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

The dried and ground black cumin is used in bomb making as a sensitizer [1].

What on earth is a sensitizer?

Confusion

As mentioned above, there seems to be some confusion over the different plants black cumin may refer to. I removed some talk from the article suggesting that Bunium persicum does not contain thymol, for example. I have no idea what is correct, but if somebody could clear it up, that would be great. --Michael Snow (talk) 21:28, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

The simplest way to explain is this: if you know what cumin looks like, then black cumin, shajira, Elwendia persica, Bunium persicum (all the same regardless of whatever it's called) looks very similar but a slightly darker colour than regular cumin (although certainly not black). Nigella sativa is a smaller, irregular shaped seed (almost a teardrop). Properly known as kalonji or black onion seed, Nigella sativa is nothing like true black cumin. Wokepedian (talk) 04:33, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

The confusion can be cleared up by looking at this page: [2]

The chemicals mentioned as being contained in this spice (Bunium Persicum) do not include thymol, which, also as stated in this reference, is contained in ajwain spice, a related, but not similar spice. Ajwain is also known as carom or Bishop's weed.

The pseudo-medical diotribe listed is not referenced, and is highly suspect, not backed by modern scientific medical evidence. Also, the text includes (mis?)information about black cumin, ordinary cumin and nigella, the latter two are nothing to do with this page!! Please remove. Waaza 02/03/08 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.76.73 (talk) 23:54, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

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B. bulbocastanum

Who are the authorities who synonymize B. bulbocastanum with B. persicum? None of the various taxonomic databases I've checked (The Plant List, TROPICOS, ARS-GRIN) show this to be the case. If they are lumped, this appears to be a minority viewpoint.Plantdrew (talk) 22:52, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, an old viewpoint. Updated. Sminthopsis84 (talk) 16:07, 3 October 2013 (UTC)

It's spurious, it's not in the Soviet literature as referenced here. I removed the reference to Komarov as it was false. Leo Breman (talk) 00:29, 3 February 2020 (UTC)

Identity of Hebrew קֶצַח

The Biblical Hebrew word קֶצַח (ketzach) refers to Nigella sativa, not to Bunium persicum. The confusion comes from both being called "black cumin" in English, which is also the common translation of קֶצַח. Nigella sativa was common to the Levant and Middle East during Biblical times whereas Bunium persicum was probably totally unknown. The article should be changed to reflect this. Ruyn13 (talk) 23:51, 11 March 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing this out. I deleted the offending sentence; Nigella sativa already covers the Hebrew name and biblical reference.Plantdrew (talk) 17:30, 12 March 2013 (UTC)