description
Sesamum indicum is a flowering plant of the Pedaliaceae family.
This annual
plant grows roughly 1 1/2 to 3 feet in height. Its opposite, broad lanceolate leaves are 1 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches long with an entire margin.
They are roughly 2 inches wide at the plant's base, narrowing to all the way down to a little under 1/2 inch
wide on the flowering stem.
The flowers are yellow to white, blue, or purple, and tubular with a
four-lobed mouth, and approximately 1 to 2 inches in length.
Sesame fruit is a typically grooved capsule, with a short triangular beak and 4 to 12 loculi.
It is normally pubescent, and rectangular in section, with a varying length of 2-8 cm and width of .5-2 cm.
Seeds are released from the fruit naturally as it opens (dehisces) by splitting along the septa
from top to bottom—or by means of two apical
pores, depending on the varietal cultivar. Of
importance in breeding for mechanized harvesting is the degree of dehiscence, as is the insertion height of
the first capsule.
Sesame seeds are small; though their size, form and colors vary with the thousands of
varieties now known. Typically, the ovate seeds are about 3 to 4 mm in length, 2 mm wide, and 1 mm thick.
The seeds are slightly flattened
and somewhat thinner at the eye of the seed (hilum) than at the opposite end.
The weight of the seeds is between 20 and 40 milligrams. The seed coat (testa)
may be smooth or ribbed.
As mentioned, sesame seeds come in many colors depending on the cultivar harvested. The most frequently
sold variety of sesame is an off-white color; however other common colors include buff,
tan, gold, brown, reddish, gray and black.
common names & nomenclature
The name sesame is from the early 15c., probably from Middle French sisame and
directly from Latin sesamum from Greek sesamon meaning "seed or fruit of the sesame
plant," a very early borrowing via Phoenician from Late Babylonian
shawash-shammu (Assyrian shamash-shammu, literally meaning "oil-seed").
Also known as:
sesame seeds
