Recently my wife mentioned she had a comment from a potential customer that asked why we didn't refer to Cilantro as Culantro in our store. Well, because they're not the same and apparently this person was quite insistent they were. So, Ithink it's time to set the record straight.
Yes, botanically these two plants are in the same family, Apiaceae, but the comparison stops there. Culantro's botanical name is Eryngium foetidum whereas Cilantro's is Coriandrum sativum. Just because potatoes, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes (and petunias for that matter) are all in the Solanaceae family doesn't mean they're all the same. Do you order a bacon, lettuce and potato sandwich? How about some nice pepper-plant parmesan? Or eggplant sauce on your pasta? Heck, for that matter anything in the family Hominidae are the same as well.
Now, let's add to this the fact that there are actually several named varieties of Cilantro such as Santo and Delfino whereas Culantro has only one that I know of. Personally, I have never grown Culantro but have grown a ton of Cilantro. From what I've read, Culantro has many similarities to it's sister herb such as bolting in warmer/long days. But being the tropical that it is, I would imagine it is unable to take the lower temps that Cilantro thrives in.
Now, from a taste perspective they are in fact similar. Cilantro tends to be a zero or one thing, you love it or hate it. My wife says she doesn't like the "soapy" flavor of Cilantro but I couldn't have a salsa without it.
If anyone has proof that these are in fact the same thing, I invite you to share it.
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