ABSTRACT

Caraway (En), Karwij (Nl), Kümmel (G), Carvi (Fr, Sp, It), are European common names for the plant Carum carvi L. and its seed. What is commonly referred to as the ‘seed’, as in this text, is botanically a small dry fruit with a 1000-seed weight of 2-7g. The species occurs in a biennial (C. carvi L. cvg Winter caraway), and an annual form (cvg Spring caraway) (Toxopeus et al. 1996). The former is part of natural pastures in Central Europe; Alps, Caucasus, Adriatic peninsula and the drainage areas of rivers notably Rhine and Danube (Hegi 1926). The annual type is natural in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean.