Lallemantia

a genus of annual herbaceous plants of the family Labiatae. There are five species, growing in Asia Minor, India, and Pakistan. Only one species— Lallemantia iberica —is grown primarily for its oil. A branching plant, it has an erect four-sided stem measuring 20-90 cm tall. The elongated leaves are opposite. The bisexual flowers have a white, pink, or lilac corolla and are gathered in pseudowhorls, which have four toothed oval bracts at their bases. The fruit is a split nutlet, with small seeds. One thousand seeds weigh 4-6 g. They contain 35-38 percent quick-drying oil, which is used in foods and in the dye and varnish industry. The oil cakes are used as fodder. The Lallemantia, which have been grown for a long time in Asia Minor and Armenia, are at present cultivated primarily in Iran. Until 1957 they were cultivated in small plantings in the USSR in Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Oblast, Armenia, and the Crimea. Since that time they have been cultivated in even smaller plantings. The average harvest is 8-10 quintals per hectare.