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Botanical name: Sesamum indicum subsp. indicum, Family: Pedaliaceae (Sesame family) Sesame is a common cultivated herb. Flowers are 1.5-3.3 cm long. Lower lip is occasionally equal to, or more usually 2–10 mm longer than, other lobes. Flower color is variable, from white, light pink, pale lavender to light purple, or with pale lavender lines, ranging in intensity from 1 to 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, coloration varies with cultivar, some with linear markings, some tinted only at lower margin of lower lip, with variable intensity and variable amount of surface area covered. Living plant color is in shades of green, extending from yellow-green, fern green, shamrock green, emerald green, forest green, jade green, sea green, dark green with purplish hue. Plants are generally 30-110 cm tall, branching variable, cultivar-dependent, from single-stemmed to profusely branching; lower leaves varying by cultivar, ranging from occasionally divided, tripartite, with toothed margins, some with leafy outgrowths at base of leaves above leaf-stalk; many cultivars with lanceshaped or simple ovate leaves. Seedpods are 1.5-5 cm long, bicarpellate and tetracarpellate, texture papery to woody (variable). Seed color variable, white, ivory, beige, tan, mustard yellow, brick red, various shades of brown, gray, or black; seed surfaces smooth, granular, seldom transversely or netveinedly rugose, not dormant.
Sesame (Sesamum indicum)(ಎಳ್ಳು in Kannada, எள் in tamil, నువ్వులు in telugu, तिल in hindi) has numerous wild relatives in africa and lesser number in indian subcontinent. .....
Its seed is considered to be the oldest oilseed crop known, domesticated since many years. It is very drought-tolerant and has been called a survivor crop, with an ability to grow where most crops fail. Its seeds have rich, nutty flavour and has one of the highest oil contents. Though its seeds are well known for making oil, food items etc, its flowers are less used. Sesame flowers have bitter taste and can produce heat in body when consumed. There are white sesame and black sesame plants and flowers of black sesame plants help hair growth, restoration of natural hair color.
For Bald Head: In olden days, ayurvedic doctors extracted hoof of a dead horse and burned it to coal. They mixed sesame flowers, cow ghee, honey and coal/ash of horse’s hoof in equal quantities and applied on bald heads to make hair grow again.
For Facial Beauty: Make paste of sesame flowers with cow milk and apply it as facepack. Wash it after an hour. This will remove pimples, black spots, wrinkles etc and add more glow to skin.
To improve Eyesight: In winter season, collect the dew drops on sesame flowers and use them as eyedrops. 2-3 drops every morning will improve eyesight, remove dryness and puss from eyes.
For increasing Sperm count and Vitality: Extracts flowers, leaves and seeds from black sesame plants in equal quantities. Dry them and make their power. Store this powder in a bottle and everyday morning on empty stomach, take 6 grams of this power along with 1 spoon sugar. Within 21 days, body will start gaining stamina and virility will increase.
For curing kidney stones: Pick sesame flowers and dry them under shade. Make their powder and store it. Consuming 5 grams of this powder along with 1 spoon honey and 200 ml cowmilk everyday will help kidney stones to melt.
Sesame leaves and sesame seeds come from a flowering plant called Sesamum indicum, which is an annual plant that grows to about 1.5 to 3 feet in height. Sesame leaves (kkaenip herb as known in Korean) are similar in flavor to fennel. They have that slightly exotic licorice flavor.
Another way to enjoy the health benefits of sesame is to include sesame leaves in your diet. Sesame leaves are a staple green vegetable in the traditional Korean diet, and are valued for their mineral density and strong aroma. They are as aromatic as herbs like basil and mint, but have a unique, nutty fragrance.
In Korea, where perilla is an important flavouring, the plant is known as tul-kkae [들깨]. This name literally means “wild sesame plant”, although perilla and sesame are not particularly closely related. Also kkaennip [깻잎] (“sesame leaf”) is a common designation for perilla in Korean.
The sesame plant doesn’t have edible leaves, just seeds which grow in pods much larger. Sesame seed oil cham-girum 참기름 is used for dressings and in cooking. At harvest time the sesame plants are picked and the seeds removed from the pods. The plants are turned upside down and shaken and beaten to get the seeds out of the pods.