Many people aren't aware that cliantro seeds are also called coriander. Whatever you call it, this cool-weather annual has pale mauve flowers that bees and other pollinators just love.
Harvest fresh coriander leaves as needed. Coriander seeds ripen and scatter quickly, so cut the entire plant as soon as the leaves and flowers turn brown. Tie the plants in bundles, and hang them upside down with a paper bag tied securely around the flowerheads to catch the seeds as they dry.
Greek and Roman doctors, including Hippocrates, made medicines from coriander, but it was also prized as a spice and as an ingredient in a Roman vinegar used to preserve meat. The Chinese used coriander as far back as the Han dynasty—207 b.c. to a.d. 220. At the time, it was thought that coriander had the power to make a person immortal.