Sesamum indicum Seeds | Sesame
LATIN NAME: Sesamum indicum
COMMON NAME: Sesame
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Sesame, Sesamum indicum is an upright, drought-tolerant herb. Sesame is a small, upright, drought-tolerant herb of warm lands, and its tiny, oil-rich seeds have been one of great foods of world for thousands of years. Seeds are pressed for their fine oil and used whole on breads, sweets and the salads. It is a fine, generous, easy crop of warm, sunny, well-drained garden. When it flowers, local bees and other insects make good use of it. The ratio of effort to reward here is about as good as gardening gets.
Science & Biotechnology
Sesame is the oldest oilseed still in cultivation — four thousand years of continuous farming — and its pharmacology is that of its lignans: sesamin and sesamolin, which convert to sesamol on roasting and give sesame oil its exceptional resistance to rancidity. Sesamin influences fatty-acid oxidation and vitamin E retention in human studies, and lignan-rich sesame shows modest blood-pressure and lipid effects in small trials. Black sesame (hei zhi ma) is the tonic form of Chinese medicine. In the garden it is an elegant annual whose pods pop audibly at harvest.
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Sesamum indicum, a representative of the Sesamum group with clear practical value. Sesame has a strong and well-documented place in plant science, and tiny, oil-rich seeds have been studied for a very long time as one of great oilseed crops of the world. Modern propagation practice has made this species straightforward to raise by ordinary good methods.
Uses & Benefits
Sesame brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Sesame is one of great food and oil crops of warm world, and tiny seeds are pressed for their fine, stable oil and used whole on breads, rolls, sweets, sauces and the salads. Ground seeds give tahini of the eastern kitchens, and the oil is prized for its fine flavour and its long keeping. Plant is a tough, drought-tolerant, easy crop of warm, sunny, well-drained ground, and it has been written up in agricultural and food papers for its long history and its many uses. Establishment is uncomplicated, and afterwards ordinary care suffices.
Sesame is the oldest oilseed, its lignans sesamin and sesamol studied antioxidants, its black seeds, Hei Zhi Ma, a classical Chinese tonic for hair, liver and regularity, and its calcium content exceptional among seeds.
Growing from Seed
Starting Sesame from seed is simple and satisfying. Surface-sow onto a light, well-drained compost, dust over a thin covering, and keep evenly moist and sunny until the seedlings show. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Part of this plant’s appeal is the long practical history summarized above. It forms an upright, drought-tolerant herb, which makes spacing and siting straightforward. Plant it in sun with drainage to its liking and the rest is easy.
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