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Fennel | | Name : | Fennel | | Botanical : | Foeniculum vulgare | | Latin : | Foeniculum vulgare Mill. | | Synonyms : | Hsiao-hui-hsiang
Largefennel
Shatapushpa(Sanskrit name)
Shih-lo(Chinese name)
Sweetfennel
Tzu-mo-lo
Wildfennel
Xiao-hue-xiang(Chinese name)
| | Family : | Umbelliferae | | Parts Used : | Seeds, berries, fruits, roots, and stems. | | Habitat : | Found growing as a weed in waste places in much of the United States,in southeastern Canada and in southern British Columbia. Also cultivatedfor commercial demands in the warmer parts of Europe and in many partsof Africa, Asia, and North and South America. Native to MediterraneanEurope where it is found growing wild. | | Picture : |  | | Description : | Fennel is a beautiful plant. It has a thick, perennial root-stock, stout stems, 4 to 5 feet or more in height, erect and cylindrical, bright green and so smooth as to seem polished, much branched bearing leaves cut into the very finest of segments. The bright golden flowers, produced in large, flat terminal umbels, with from thirteen to twenty rays, are in bloom in July and August.
In the kitchen garden this naturally ornamental, graceful plant, generally has its stems cut down to secure a constant crop of green leaves for flavouring and garnishing, so that the plant is seldom seen in the same perfection as in the wild state. In the original wild condition, it is variable as to size, habit, shape and colour of leaf, number of rays in the flower-head or umbel, and shape of fruit, but it has been under cultivation for so long that there are now several well-marked species. The Common Garden Fennel (F. Capillaceum or officinale) is distinguished from its wild relative (F. vulgare) by having much stouter, taller, tubular and larger stems, and less divided leaves, but the chief distinction is that the leaf-stalks form a curved sheath around the stem, often even as far as the base of the leaf above. The flower-stalks, or pedicels, of the umbels are also sturdier, and the fruits, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, are double the size of the wild ones. | | Constituents : | As found in commerce, oil Fennel is not uniform.
The best varieties of Fennel yield from 4 to 5 per cent of volatile oil (sp. gr. 0.960 to 0.930), the principal constituents of which are Anethol (50 to 60 per cent) and Fenchone (18 to 22 per cent). Anethol is also the chief constituent of Anise oil.
Fenchone is a colourless liquid possessing a pungent, camphoraceous odour and taste, and when present gives the disagreeable bitter taste to many of the commercial oils. It probably contributes materially to the medicinal properties of the oil, hence only such varieties of Fennel as contain a good proportion of fenchone are suitable for medicinal use.
There are also present in oil of Fennel, d-pinene, phellandrine, anisic acid and anisic aldehyde. Schimmel mentions limonene as also at times present as a constituent.
There is reason to believe that much of the commercial oil is adulterated with oil from which the anethol or crystalline constituent has been separated. Good oil will contain as much as 60 per cent.
Saxon Fennel yields 4.7 per cent of volatile oil, containing 22 per cent of fenchone.
Russian, Galician and Roumanian, which closely resembles one another, yield 4 to 5 per cent of volatile oil, of which about 18 per cent is fenchone. They have a camphoraceous taste.
French sweet or Roman Fennel yields only 2.1 per cent. of oil, containing much less anethol and with a milder and sweeter taste, probably due to the entire absence of the bitter fenchone.
French bitter Fennel oil differs considerably, anethol being only present in traces. The oil (Essence de Fenouil amer) is distilled from the entire herb, collected in the south of France, where the plant grows without cultivation.
Indian Fennel yields only 0.72 per cent of oil, containing only 6.7 per cent of fenchone.
Japanese Fennel yields 2.7 per cent of oil, containing 10.2 of fenchone and 75 per cent of anethol.
Sicilian Fennel oil is yielded from F. piperitum.
It was formerly the practice to boil Fennel with all fish, and it was mainly cultivated in kitchen gardens for this purpose. Its leaves are served nowadays with salmon, to correct its oily indigestibility, and are also put into sauce, in the same way as parsley, to be eaten with boiled mackerel.
The seeds are also used for flavouring and the carminative oil that is distilled from them, which has a sweetish aromatic odour and flavour, is employed in the making of cordials and liqueurs, and is also used in perfumery and for scenting soaps. A pound of oil is the usual yield of 500 lb. of the seed. | | Uses : | On account of its aromatic and carminative properties, Fennel fruit is chiefly used medicinally with purgatives to allay their tendency to griping and for this purpose forms one of the ingredients of the well-known compound Liquorice Powder. Fennel water has properties similar to those of anise and dill water: mixed with sodium bicarbonate and syrup, these waters constitute the domestic 'Gripe Water,' used to correct the flatulence of infants. Volatile oil of Fennel has these properties in concentration.
Fennel tea, formerly also employed as a carminative, is made by pouring half a pint of boiling water on a teaspoonful of bruised Fennel seeds.
Syrup prepared from Fennel juice was formerly given for chronic coughs.
Fennel is also largely used for cattle condiments.
It is one of the plants which is said to be disliked by fleas, and powdered Fennel has the effect of driving away fleas from kennels and stables. The plant gives off ozone most readily.Culpepper says: 'One good old custom is not yet left off, viz., to boil fennel with fish, for it consumes the phlegmatic humour which fish most plentifully afford and annoy the body with, though few that use it know wherefore they do it. It benefits this way, because it is a herb of Mercury, and under Virgo, and therefore bears antipathy to Pisces. Fennel expels wind, provokes urine, and eases the pains of the stone, and helps to break it. The leaves or seed boiled in barley water and drunk, are good for nurses, to increase their milk and make it more wholesome for the child. The leaves, or rather the seeds, boiled in water, stayeth the hiccup and taketh away nausea or inclination to sickness. The seed and the roots much more help to open obstructions of the liver, spleen, and gall, and thereby relieve the painful and windy swellings of the spleen, and the yellow jaundice, as also the gout and cramp. The seed is of good use in medicines for shortness of breath and wheezing, by stoppings of the lungs. The roots are of most use in physic, drinks and broths, that are taken to cleanse the blood, to open obstructions of the liver, to provoke urine, and amend the ill colour of the face after sickness, and to cause a good habit through the body; both leaves, seeds, and roots thereof, are much used in drink, or broth, to make people more lean that are too fat. A decoction of the leaves and root is good for serpent bites, and to neutralize vegetable poison, as mushrooms, etc.''In warm climates,' says Mattiolus, 'the stems are cut and there exudes a resinous liquid, which is collected under the name of Fennel Gum.'
In Italy and France, the tender leaves areoften used for garnishes and to add flavour to salads, and are also added, finely chopped, to sauces served with puddings. Roman bakers are said to put the herb under their loaves in the oven to make the bread taste agreeably.
The tender stems are employed in soups in Italy, though are more frequently eaten raw as a salad. John Evelyn, in his Acetaria (1680), held that the peeled stalks, soft and white, of the cultivated garden Fennel, when dressed like celery exercised a pleasant action conducive to sleep. The Italians eat these peeled stems, which they call 'Cartucci' as a salad, cutting them when the plant is about to bloom and serving with a dressing of vinegar and pepper.
Formerly poor people used to eat Fennel to satisfy the cravings of hunger on fast days and make unsavoury food palatable; it was also used in large quantities in the households of the rich, as may be seen by the record in the accounts of Edward I.'s household, 8 1/2 lb. of Fennel were bought for one month's supply. | | Dosage : | Gather the root in the spring for medicinal purposes:
Infusion: steep 1 tbsp. freshly crushed seeds in 1 cup waterfor 5 minutes. Sweeten with honey to taste.
Decoction: boil 1/2 tsp. seed in water. Strain. Use as aneye-wash, 3 times per day.
Extract: mix 10 to 20 drops in water. Use warm water and 1tsp. honey for a soothing drink daily.
Milk decoction: boil 1 tsp. seed in 1/2 cup milk for 5 to10 minutes. Take for colic.
Tincture: take 10 to 30 drops in water, as required.
Fennel-honey: add 1 to 3 drops fennel oil to 1 tbsp. honeyand mix. Take a teaspoon at a time. A natural cough remedy. | | Safety : | Fennel belongs to the carrot family, many members of which are poisonousand resemble this medicinal plant. There seems to be confusion asto which family fennel belongs. Some say the parsley family and somesay the carrot family. Either way, care should be taken in identifyingthe correct plant before use.
Fennel or its seed oil may cause contact dermatitis. Ingestion ofoil may cause vomiting, seizures, and pulmonary edema.
Fennel is a uterine stimulant, avoid during pregnancy. Small amountsused in cooking are safe. | | Myths : | Fennel is one of nine Anglo-Saxon herbs known for secret powers.In ancient days, a bunch of fennel hung over a cottage door on Midsummer'sEve was said to prevent the effects of witchcraft. Today, if witchesare not a problem, try nibbling on the herb's seeds, as Roman womendid centuries ago, to help depress the appetite. Women in Roman timesbelieved fennel prevented obesity.
The ancients believed eating the fennel herb and seeds imparted courage,strength, and conveyed longevity. In Imperial Roman times the physicianswere in high regard of fennel for medicinal purposes.
The ancient Greeks and Anglo-Saxons snitched on their fast days bynibbling a little fennel, which reduced the appetite.
The ancients believed that myopic reptiles ate fennel to improvetheir vision and so used it themselves for this purpose. It is stillprescribed as an eye-wash. Also, for failing eyesight, a tea was madefrom fennel leaves to be used as a compress on swollen eyes.
Fennel is considered one of the oldest medicinal plants and culinaryherbs. It is fairly certain that fennel was in use over 4000 yearsago. It is mentioned in the famous Ebers Papyrus, an ancient Egyptiancollection of medical writings made around 1500 BC. There it is referredto principally as a remedy for flatulence. Later authors of herbals,such as Pliny (AD 23-79), also describe fennel primarily as an aidto digestion. In the Middle Ages, it was praised for coughs.
Fennel was well known to the ancient Chinese, Hindus, and Egyptiansas a harmless medicine and spice. Italians are fond of the seeds asseasoning.
A warm tea of the seeds, slightly sweetened with honey, is a usefulcarminative for restless babies. A stronger tea, or the oil on a lumpof sugar, is soothing for older children or adults.
The seed or the oil is combined with other flavors in the makingof liqueurs. Fennel is the principle ingredient of a cordial knownas Fenouillette.
In early American times of the 17th century, every garden had itslittle patch of fennel 'for keeping old women awake in church.' Asprig of fennel was the theological smelling bottle of the tendersex, not infrequently of the men, who found themselves too stronglytempted to take a nap, would sometimes borrow a sprig of fennel. | | Sold : | Capsules or powder form. Take 1 or 2 capsules per day. |
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