Fennel, Or Foeniculum Vulgare, Is A Hardy, Perennial, Umbelliferous Herb That Grows Wild In Most Parts Of Temperate Europe. It Has Yellow Flowers And Feathery Leaves. Fennel Was Generally Considered Indigenous To The Shores Of The Mediterranean But Its Cultivation As An Important Aromatic Spice And Beneficial Herb Spread Eastwards To India. In Ancient Greece, The Fennel Plant Was Said To Have Flourished And The People Called Marathron. Because Of Its Many Virtues, The Ancient Greeks Came To Name A Place After It, Marathon, Which Means Place Of Fennel. Marathon Places A Big Part In History Where The Famous Battle Of Marathon Took Place In 491 B.C.Following The Greeks, The Romans Cultivated The Plant Mainly As An Important Culinary Ingredient. They Brought It With Them During The Expansion Of The Roman Empire. In This Way, Fennel Was Able To Follow Civilization, Growing Wild In Many Parts Of The World Upon Dry Soils Near The Sea-coast And Upon Riverbanks. Fennel Particularly Thrives In Soil With Limestone Base And Is Now Naturalized In Some Parts Of England, Particularly In North Wales Southward And Eastward To Kent, Devon, And Cornwall. Species Of Fennel Are Most Frequent On Chalk Cliffs Near The Sea And Chalky Districts Inland.Medicinal Actions And UsesFennel Has Many Aromatic And Carminative Properties That Make It A Medicinal Purgative Neutralizer. It Is Chiefly Used To Allay The Griping Tendency Of Many Purgatives. For This Reason, Fennel Is One Of The Ingredients Used To Create The Well-known Compound, Liquorice Powder. Fennel Water, When Mixed With Sodium Bicarbonate And Syrup, Constitute The Domestic Anti-flatulent For Infants, Gripe Water. Also, The Volatile Oil Of Fennel Has These Properties In Concentration. There Are Several More Benefits Associated With Fennel, All Of Which Are Summarized In The Words Of Culpepper: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 Wth, 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 Throughout 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. TOTAL WORD COUNT - 567KEYWORDS "Fennel" -15 (density 2.6)
