dried fruit, common name of the seed of Coriandrum sativum, a feathery annual herb of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). Native to the Mediterranean and Middle East regions, the herb is cultivated in Europe, Morocco, and the United States for its seeds, which are used to flavour many foods, particularly sausages, curries, Scandinavian pastries, liqueurs, and confectionery, such as English comfits. Its delicate young leaves are widely used in Latin-American, Indian, and Chinese dishes. Records of the use of coriander date to 5000 BC. The Romans used it to flavour bread. It was once used as an aromatic and carminative, but its only modern use in medicine is to mask unpleasant tastes and odours of drugs.