Fennel
Family Name: Apiaceae
Family Name: Umbelliferae
Latin Name: Foeniculum vulgare
Common Names: Fennel
Body System Affiliations: [LIST]
1. Digestive
2. Skin
Botanical Description:
Habit: Herb
Size: Ranges from 2-6 ft tall
Arrangement: Usually found in large stands
Flowers: Makes groups of umbel-shaped flowers ripening to clusters of hundreds of seeds
Fruit: Small football shaped seed with ridges running the length
Range: A common escapee found from the Puget Sound to San Diego (2-297)
Propagation:
Technique: I harvest the seed as soon as it is plump and firm I remove the seed and let it dry
Timing: I seed in the early spring and cut back plants I want to save in the late fall. I am always rewarded with regrowth.
Harvest:
Plant Part: All parts of the plant can be used
Season of Harvest: From Spring to late Fall
Method of Harvest: I like to thank the plant for its gift by playing a song for it
Ecological Considerations of Harvest: When harvesting the root I am careful not to damage the roots of nearby plants. I harvested only from what I grew in my yard
Part Used: Seed
Medicinal Actions: Carminative,aromatic,anti-spasmodic,stimulant,galactogogue,rubefacient,expectorant,anti-imetic,diaphoric,hepatic (1,94)
Indications: Tummy Ache
Constituents: Up to 6% volatile oil including anethole and fenchone; fatty oil 10% (1, 94)
Harvest: I usually harvest by cutting off the umbels and drying the seed whilst still on the umbels, Hoffman Suggests (1, 94) that you comb the seed from the umbel the let it dry
Storage: I store out of the light in paper bags
Preparation: Pour a cup of boiling water over 1-2 tsp of slightly crushed dry seed (1, 94)
Applications: I use to soothe tummy aches
Personal Experience: I have had a long relationship with the plants in my yard
Food: I combine Fennel with Lemon-Balm to make tummy tea all year around
Medicine:
Part Used: All Parts, but usually leaves and seed depending on the season
Medicinal Actions: It soothes my stomach and also helps stimulate my liver to help eliminate waste from my blood stream
Indications: Stomach ache
Body System Associations: Digestive, Circulatory
Harvest: From my yard
Site Location: East Olympia near Lyons Park
Site Description:
I chose this site because I live there and have a long relationship with the plants there. The soil is the typical Olympia sandy stuff that is great for drainage.
Processing: I slightly crush the seed and use a pizza cutter to macerate the leaf matter
Storage: I store in paper bags out of the light
Experience: I did not know it until recently, but I have probably been using this plant
Application/Preparation/Pharmacy:
Applications Infusion
Preparation Take 2 teaspoons of seed, slightly crush it, pour 1 cup of boiling water over it and let it sit covered for five minuets. You can strain off the seeds but I leave them in.
Pharmacy drinks it when my stomach is upset
I grew up in Northern California and our home bordered many undeveloped grasslands. There were giant stands of fennel everywhere. In the summer we never missed an opportunity to chew on what we called “licorice”. I remember the smell of the stuff on warm days when we would tromp through the fields surrounding me.
References Cited: [EXAMPLES OF BOOK AND ONLINE SOURCES.]
- Hoffman, David. The Holistic Herbal. London, England: Element publishing, 2003.
2. Moore, Michael. Medicinal Plants of the Pacific North West, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Red Crane books, 2001.
Ian Clement - Arts Environment and the Child - fall - 2005-6
