Caraway of commerce is the fruit of a biennial herb. The plant has a fleshy root and slender branched stem that attains a height of 0.5 to 0.6 mtrs, with small white flowers in compound umbels. The fruit when ripened splits into narrow elongated carpel, 4 to 6.5mm long, curved, pointed at ends with 5 longitudinal ridges on the surface. The dried fruit is brown in colour has pleasant odour is with sharp taste. Seeds are hard and sharp to touch.
 
Indian Name for Caraway:
Hindi : Siya zira or Shia zira Bengali : Jira or Zira Kannada : Shime jeerige Kashmiri : Gunyun Malayalam : Shima jirakam Marathi : Vilaiti zirah Sindhi : Kalu Duru Punjabi : Zira-siah Sanskrit : Sushavi Tamil : Shimai shambu Telugu : Sima jirakai
Foreign Name for Caraway:
Arabic : Karaway Dutch : Karwif French : Grainsde Carvi Chinese : Fang Feng Greek : Karo Italian : Caro