Question about herbs

Could someone tell me anything about Cilantro, Coriander, and Epazote? They're herbs, aren't they??? Are they perennials? Will they grow in my zone 3? What are they used for? I'm trying to find more herbs that I can use to dry for my own spices and making my own teas and am not sure if these are something I would want or not. Also, if you have any herbs, or any suggestions on herbs I could grow for these purposes, please let me know! Thanks! BTW....I HAVE tried searching the net for these herbs, but I'm not having any luck...so if you know of a good search engine for herbs, I could use that too! *S*

AuntyB, Here is a site to go to for growing Cilantro http://homearts.com/clg/profiles/57cilaf1.htm Cilantro is used in mexican and some Thai dishes, but not sure what else. Here is Coriander www.gardenguides.com I couldn't find any about epazote except it is used in Mexican dishes, but have really good books at home and will look them up when I get there.

Hi AB:) I grow it every year, and LOTS of it for my salsa making. I just throw a buch of seed on the ground and start watering. I don't even cover it. I have also started some soaking in water until it sprouted and planted it where I wanted it. I just love it and its as easy or easier than marigolds. Do you need some seed?

Sure do! Would love some seed! Which ones are you talking about tho? I had asked about a couple different kinds in my post above. Also would love any info you can share with me about them! Thanks!

I may be mistaken but I think I'm right...going by memory...I believe cilantro and coriander are the same herb..cilantro is the leafy part used in salsa and coriander is the seed. Let me know if I'm wrong. I did look up epazote. I will quote from my book "Using Plants for Healing" by Nelson Coon. It says:
"Chenopodium ambrosioides var. anthelminticum (Gray)
Also known as wormseed, Mexican tea, Jerusalem tea, Jesuit tea, Spanish tea, ambrosia, stick weed, goosefoot, stinking weed, epazote (Mexican)
Although most of the introduced wild plants have come to us from Europe, some, such as Chenopodium, have come from south of the border. It is a plant noted in Mexican herbals, and some suggest that it came from Chile, perhaps by a long process of migration as was the case with the potato and tomato. Depending on locale, this may be an annual or perennial, with small greenish flowers growing about 3 feet high. It will be found in waste places and along roadsides throughout much of the U.S. It should at once be noted that the plant is basically poisonous, and, although in Mexico it is noted for other purposes, the little, glossy, black seeds as an anthelmintic* would be the only safe use in home medicine.
In official medicine, the oil is extracted by distillation from the whole plant and is known as Chenopodium Oil, given as a single dose for adults at the rate of 1 cc. per dose. In home medicine, a teaspoonful of the seeds may be mixed with honey, to be given twice in one day and followed with a good laxative. One authority says to use "powdered seeds given in doses of 15-60 gr...at bedtime and in the morning before food, for two or three days, followed by some cathartic."
Other uses, detailed in several herbals are those of a tonic and antispasmodic, for nervous affections. In Mexico it seems to have been prescribed in ammenorrhea and for painful and profuse menstruation. As a poison, it is basically a narcotic affecting the brain, spinal cord, and stomach, and should therefore be treated with the respect due any otherwise useful poison."
*anthelmintics- medicines for expelling intestinal worms. Plants containing substances which are obnoxious to the worms or which act as cathartics have been used for this purpose.

Does not sound pleasant, huh? Back to cilantro...I grew this early in the summer...the first leaves (look sort of like gingko leaves) are the ones used for salsa. As the plant matures, the leaves change character completely and it begins to look a lot like dill. I was told that once planted, you never had to plant it again. However, I think that was before our plague of grasshoppers down here in Texas.

Wow! Thanks for the info! Don't think I'll try to get any epazote! Sounds more like something to stay away from! But I'm going to try to get my hands on as much of the Cilantro/Coriander as I can get! I LOVE salsa!!! Coriander/Cilantro herb is evidently something really spicy that you wouldn't want to make a tea out of and drink it then, right?

It never occurred to me that cilantro and coriander were from the same plant. Thanks for the info.

Yes, they are the same. I harvest the first leaves that come out for salsa and let some plants go for seed. I do have volunteers each season - they are easy to recognize at even a week, so you can yank em if you have too many (I don't seem to have to yank any :9) I don't think it reseeds anything like dill tho. We go through a couple of tubs of salsa a week in the summer. I also add it to mexican dishes, add it to my tacos, have it on eggs with salsa...so you see, I still have to plant more. I prefer it fresh, but didn't have enough left over to dry and have been to the grocery store three times already since frost to buy more. If I planted enough it would BE my herb garden. Aunty B, send your addy and I load ya up with some :)