A while back I was on a near fanatical search for a way to get the taste of cilantro into our intemperately warm herb gardens, and now it is a joy to announce that for us at least it is a problem solved.
A plant the Aztecs named after the butterfly, Porophyllum ruderale, also known as quillquiña, Bolivian coriander, or papalo, came to the rescue.
Fast growing and heat tolerant, this herb satisfies our cravings for cilantro without all the heartache that a desert gardener experiences from Coriandrum sativum. The only drawback at present is that although widely advertised, it is out of stock at most vendors.
Fortunately, Johnny's has availability, limited to one packet per order:
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?scommand=search&search=papalo&item=2978
Their photo is prettier than mine, but ours is growing as fast as it can, despite our munching:
If the photo looks a little dark, the reason is that one our new AG Deluxe grow bulbs apparently "exploded" in transit (could it have been the heat?) so I set up a lampless planter in between two others to share what light it can get until the replacement arrives. Can't wait to see how the Papalo grows under optimal conditions, but even such as it is, there is only one word an avowed cilantro lover needs to describe this herb:
DELICIOUS!
After posting this, I stumbled across another blogger's Papalo entry and wanted my readers to see her lovely photo:
Rose Marie's Beautiful Mature Papalo Plant