• Common name : Fenugreek
• Scientific name : Trigonellafoenum-graecum
• Family : Fabacecae
• Native land : Eastern Mediterranean
Fenugreek is an annual herb indigenous to the countries bordering on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and largely cultivated in India, Egypt and Morocco. The plant grows up to 3 feet tall, and has three-part leaves. The long slender stems bear tripartite, toothed, grey-green obovate leaves, 20-25 mm long. The flowering season for fenugreek is generally midsummer. The fruit is a curved seedpod, with ten to twenty flat and hard, yellowish-brown seeds. Dried or fresh leaves of fenugreek are used as herb, seeds as spice, and fresh leaves as vegetable. Sotolon is the chemical responsible for the distinctive sweet smell of this herb.