I think I can.

In the US, from what I can tell, the leaves are cilantro, and the seeds are coriander.

I know people (like my boyfriend) who hate the leaves (as you might find in salsa), and love the seed (as you might find in curry).

I guess, to some people, the leaves have a "soap" taste to them. I don't get it, but I have no reason to doubt that some people do.

It's one of those foods that tastes awful to a subset of humans. Some people like it/don't mind it, but that subset hate it vehemently.

I'm not sure I fully buy into Eideteker's theory, but I don't have an alternate to offer. I like the seeds and the leaves of that plant whatever you want to call it.

I don't think coriander is a posh herb here. Coriander is used in almost all asian (indian) cooking. Come 12:30 at night, after the beer and the being thrown out of the pub, you're not going to get a sit-in chicken rogan josh without a sprig of coriander resting on the top of it. We also use it (seeds + herb) all the time. Hence the weird cultural frisson when people descibe it as a "posh herb".

It's not posh. It just is. Like parsley, or pepper, or thyme.
Weird.

People add cilantro to things here to make them trendy. Like "mango salsa" and fancy coffees (as Denis Leary said; whatever happened to coffee-flavored coffee?) and other sorts of "fusion" cuisine. I dunno; I'm just guessing. I have no formal culinary training. I don't even like eating.

It's also known as chinese parsley. And I'm one of those people who hates the flavor of it.

First time I had it ("cilantro") was at a place that had the ubiquitous Big Ass Burrito; said burrito was chock full of cilantro and I was nauseous for hours afterward. I had no idea what it was or its name but I knew it tasted not-so-great and made me wonder if I was allergic to it.

The second time I had it was at a Chevy's Fresh Mex restaurant in Marin Co. They put a generous amount of cilantro in their salsa they bring with tortilla chips while you wait for your food. I plowed through two Blue Agave margaritas while downing a hefty amount of chips and salsa. Suddenly, I knew it was a good thing to go outside (not wanting to ralf in a public bathroom). I managed not to puke but I sat in my car, put the seat back, and fought off that urge to vomit for about a half hour while my stomach settled.

So, I wouldn't say I vehemently hate cilantro, but I definitely would say it does not agree with me. If I have a food that sneaks in some cilantro I try to make sure I stay away from tequila when I do so.

I think maybe that says more about Chevy's than it does about cilantro.

Kellydamnit has it