Nigella

Nigella
Nigella damascena
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Ranunculaceae
Subfamily:	Ranunculoideae
Tribe:	Nigelleae
Genus:	Nigella L.
Species
Nigella arvensis Nigella carpatha Nigella damascena Nigella degenii Nigella deserti Nigella doerfleri Nigella elata Nigella fumariifola Nigella hispanica Nigella latisecta Nigella nigellastrum Nigella orientalis Nigella oxypetala Nigella papillosa Nigella sativa Nigella segetalis Nigella stricta Nigella unguicularis

Nigella is a genus of 18 species^[1] of annual plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Southern Europe, North Africa, South Asia, Southwest Asia and Middle East. Common names applied to members of this genus are nigella, devil-in-a-bush or love-in-a-mist.

The species grow to 20–90 cm (8–35 in) tall, with finely divided leaves; the leaf segments are narrowly linear to threadlike. The flowers are white, yellow, pink, pale blue or pale purple, with five to ten petals. The fruit is a capsule composed of several united follicles, each containing numerous seeds; in some species (e.g. Nigella damascena), the capsule is large and inflated.