Ruta chalepensis

Ruta chalepensis is a species of flowering plant in the Rutaceae family known by the common name fringed rue.^[1] It is native to the Mediterranean and is found elsewhere as an introduced species.^[2] It is a perennial herb growing up to 80 centimeters tall. The leaves are compound, each divided into several segments which are subdivided into smaller leaflets. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers, each with four or five bright yellow petals with rolled, fringed edges. The fruit is a textured capsule which is divided into pointed lobes.

Ruta chalepensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Ruta
Species:	R. chalepensis
Binomial name
Ruta chalepensis L.

Dried fruits.

Ruta "Tena Adam" in coffee in Ethiopia

In traditional herbal medicine, the plant is used as for a number of ailments, such as fever and inflammation.^[3]

R. chalepensis is the original source of the chemical compound chalepensin.^[4]

Culinary

R. chalepensis is an introduced species in Ethiopia, where it is cultivated in gardens in almost every province of the country and used as a culinary herb. The seeds are used to flavour wats and the leaves as a condiment in coffee and tea.^[5] Called Tena adam (Adam's health) in Amharic, it is used in the Ethiopian coffee ceremony.^[6] Its dried fruit are marketed as a spice in Western countries, often under the name "passion berries" since the odour is said to resemble passion fruit.^[7][8][9]