Chandon beni/culantro (Eryngium foetidium)

A pungent wild herb used as a flavouring in many of the Spanish islands as well as in Trinidad, it is called by many different names: shadow bennie, shado beni, shadon bene and chandon beni. All seem to be descended from a French vernacular name, chardon beni, meaning ‘blessed thistle’, because it has thistle-like leaves. In Jamaica it is known as fit weed, as it is thought to cure ‘fits’. Use coriander as a substitute.