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Fennel: www.nps.gov/.../wildflowers/images/fennel.jpg

Fennel

Family Name: Carrot Family
Family Name: Apiaceae, Umbelliferae

Latin Name: Foeniculum vulgare

Common Name: Fennel, Sweet Fennel, wild fennel, Florence fennel

Native American Names:

Related Species:Anethum graveolens (dill), Anthriscus cerefolium (chervil), Angelica spp. (Angelica), Apium graveolens (celery), Carum carvi (caraway), Conium maculatum (poison hemlock), Coriandrum sativum (coriander), Cuminum cyminum (cumin), Daucus carota (carrot), Eryngium spp. (Sea holly), • Myrrhis odorata (cicely), Pastinaca sativa (parsnip), Petroselinum crispum (parsley), Pimpinella anisum (anise), Levisticum officinale (lovage)

Botanical Description:
Habit: perennial herb
Size: up to two meters tall
Leaves: feathery and delicate, bright green cut into fine segments
Flowers: umbel, yellow five-bladed
Fruit: light to dark brown seeds formed in pairs
Underground parts: finger-thick, white and fleshy tap root, smaller horizontal roots
Personal Observation and Description: stringy green leaves, soft

Ecology:
Habitat: enjoys sun and calcium rich soil [3], humus-rich soil that drains well[4], dry soils near sea or riverbanks, limestone soils and chalky districts inland [2]
Range: Europe and Asia, Mediterranean, India and Egypt, considered a weed in Australia
Native Where: Mediterranean and Britain
Ecological Relationship: harmful affect on bush beans, caraway, tomatoes and kohlrabi, wormwood cuts germination and stunts growth [3]
Personal Observation of Locations Observed, Dates and Description on Plants:

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Western (European-American) Uses/Relationships:

Food: toothpaste flavor, fresh fennel used in egg and fish dishes, Florence fennel used in Greek and Italian salads, cooked leaves used in risotto, seeds used for flavoring in bread and to hide flavor of meat, Romans ate shoots as vegetables [2]

Materials/Technology: none found

Medicine:

Part used: seeds, leaves, fruit, stalks

Medicinal actions: carminative, weak diuretic, mild stimulant, calmative, decongestant [4]

Indications: flatulence [3], coughs, colds, sore throats, bad breath [4], hunger, inability to sleep [2], vision problems [1], inability to produce milk for nursing mothers [1-4]

Body System Associations: digestive and respiratory

Applications: tea [2, 4], broth [3], syrup, cordials and liquers [2]

Preparations: leaves and seeds boiled in barley water used to “increase yield in mother’s milk” [3], fruit used in Licorice Powder used for “gripe water” which aids flatulence in infants [2, 3], all parts used in broth to become lean, (hunger suppressant) [2, 3], peeled stalks eaten to aid sleep [2], seeds used for tea and syrup to aid coughs and digestion [2]

Pharmacy: none found

Other: the name fennel came from early Greek “marino” or marathon, which meant “to grow thin” [4]. In Medieval times it was one of the nine sacred herbs, meaning it had the power to cure nine causes of medieval disease [4], Greeks and Anglo-Saxons chewed fennel for a hunger suppressant and for courage [3]. Fennel was also used with St. Johns Wart to dispel witchcraft [2].

 

 

References:

1. Crelin, John K. and Jane Philpott. Herbal Medicine Past and Present. Volume 2. Duke University Press: Durham and London. 1990.

2. Grieve, Mrs. M. A Modern Herbal. Dover Publications Inc.: New York. 1971.

3. Hylton, William H. The Rodale Herb Book. Rodale Press Inc.: Pennsylvania. 1974.

4. Hylton, William H. and Claire Kowlachik. Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Rodale Press Inc.:Pennsylvania. 1987.

5.Law, Donald. The Concise Herbal Encyclopedia. Saint Martins Press. 1973.