A yellow-flowered annual plant, Guizotia abyssinica (family Asteraceae (Compositae)), native to tropical Africa and cultivated especially in Ethiopia and India for its small, black, oil-bearing seeds (also called noug, ramtil).
Origin
Mid 19th century; earliest use found in Peter Simmonds (1814–1897), newsagent and journalist.
Definition of niger seed in US English:
niger seed
noun
A yellow-flowered annual plant, Guizotia abyssinica (family Asteraceae (Compositae)), native to tropical Africa and cultivated especially in Ethiopia and India for its small, black, oil-bearing seeds (also called noug, ramtil).
Origin
Mid 19th century; earliest use found in Peter Simmonds (1814–1897), newsagent and journalist.