Lamudio
Trachyspermum ammi · Ajwain
- Names in the book
- Lamudio, Damoro, Tag.; Lamudio, Vis.; Caraway, Eng.
- Colours
- flowerwhite
- Native range
- Probably Egypt or the eastern Mediterranean
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Cultivated in gardens. Blooms in October.
- Family
- Apiaceae, filed in the book under Umbelliferæ
- Printed as
- Carum copticum, Benth. (C. ajowan, DC.; Ammi copticum, L.; A. glaucifolium, Blanco; Daucus opticus, Pers.; D. anisodorus, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 136 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Ajwain or ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) —also known as ajowan caraway, thymol seeds, bishop's weed, or carom—is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Both the leaves and the seed‑like fruit (often mistakenly called seeds) of the plant are consumed by humans. The name "bishop's weed" also is a common name for other plants. The "seed" (i.e., the fruit) is often confused with lovage seed.
Excerpt from “Ajwain” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 10 records of this plant from the Philippines.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
The fruit, of which both form and taste remind one of anise, is official in the Pharmacopœia of India as a carminative, stimulant and antispasmodic. It is indicated in flatulent colic, atonic dyspepsia and diarrhœa and gives very good results. It has been used in cholera, but is of little value in that disease. In moderate doses it increases salivary and gastric secretion.
The P. of India contains the 2 following official formulæ: Oleum—obtained from the fruit by distillation; is colorless when fresh but soon turns yellow; possesses the odor of the fruit and an acrid, burning taste. Aqua—600 grams of the fruit ground and mixed with 9 liters of water; this is distilled till 4½ liters have gone over, these constituting the “aqua cari.”
Dose
1–2 drops of the essential oil in emulsion or on a piece of sugar. Of the “aqua,” 30–60 grams as a carminative or to disguise the taste of other drugs (such as castor oil), thus frequently preventing nausea or vomiting.
Botanical description
Leaves finely pinnately compound. Common petiole clasps the stem at the base. Flowers white, in flat compound umbels. The secondary peduncles 12. Flowerets of each partial umbel about 16. Calyx of flowerets superior, 5 globose sepals. Corolla, 5 equal petals, with rounded lobules. Stamens 5. Ovary tuberculate. Styles 2, very short. Seeds 2, united, furrowed and nearly glabrous at maturity.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Thymol screening, phenolic contents, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Iranian populations of Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague (Apiaceae)
- Antifungal activity of Zinc nitrate derived nano Zno fungicide synthesized from Trachyspermum ammi to control fruit rot disease of grapefruit
- Interaction of titanium dioxide nanoparticles with PVC-microplastics and chromium counteracts oxidative injuries in Trachyspermum ammi L. by modulating antioxidants and gene expression