nigella

ni·gel·la

N0100450 (nī-jĕl′ə)n.1. Any of various annual herbs of the genus Nigella of the buttercup family, native to Eurasia and North Africa, having finely dissected leaves, showy white, blue, or yellow solitary flowers, and an aggregate fruit composed of several follicles, including love-in-a-mist.2. See black cumin.

[Middle English, from Late Latin, black cumin, from feminine of Latin nigellus, blackish, diminutive of niger, black; see nek^w-t- in Indo-European roots.]

nigella

(naɪˈdʒɛlə) n (Plants) any plant of the ranunculaceous genus Nigella, from the Mediterranean and W Asia, esp N. damascena. See love-in-a-mist[New Latin, diminutive of Latin niger black, from the colour of the seeds]

Thesaurus

Noun

nigella - any plant of the genus Nigella flower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossomsgenus Nigella - erect annual Eurasian herbsNigella damascena, love-in-a-mist - European garden plant having finely cut leaves and white or pale blue flowersfennel flower, Nigella hispanica - nigella of Spain and southern Franceblack caraway, Nigella sativa, nutmeg flower, Roman coriander - herb of the Mediterranean region having pungent seeds used like those of caraway

Nigella

a genus of annual herbaceous plants of the family Ranunculaceae. The leaves are usually twice or thrice pinnatisect, with narrow lobes. The flowers are generally solitary and regular. There are five petaloid sepals; the petals are small and in the form of two-lipped nectaries. The multiple fruit consists of five (or ten) fused follicles. The seeds are black.

There are approximately 25 species, distributed mainly in the Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The USSR has 11 species, growing in steppes, in weedy areas, and amid crops in the European portion, the Caucasus, and Middle Asia. The most common species are the fennel flower (N. sativa) and love-in-amist (N. damascena). The former is raised for its seeds in the Middle East, the Mediterranean region, the southern portion of Western Europe, and the USSR (central regions of the European USSR and—less commonly—the Northern Caucasus). The seeds are used as a spice. Love-in-a-mist, an ornamental with blue-violet or white flowers hidden among slightly dissected apical leaves, is also grown in many countries for its seeds. Many species of Nigella are nectar-bearers.

nigella

ni·gel·la

nigella

Nigella

Nigella

nigella

Words related to nigella

noun any plant of the genus Nigella

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