Dill
Botanical Name
- Family Umbelliverae
- Anethum graveolens syn. Peucedanum graveolens
Common Name
- Dilly, Dillweed, Eneldo (Spanish)
Description
Indigenous to the Mediterranean region, southern Russia, central and southern Asia, the herb is now cultivated throughout Europe and North and South America. The plant is an aromatic annual, growing to thirty inches, with an erect hollow stem, feathery leaves, and numerous yellow flowers in umbels. The fruit, or seeds, are lightweight and pungent. The leaves are harvested as a culinary herb in spring and summer, while the seeds are collected, when ripe, in late summer.
History
Dill is an ancient Egyptian remedy described in the Ebers papyrus (c. 1500 BCE), where it is an ingredient in a pain-killing mixture.
The ancient Greeks are believed to have covered their eyes with fronds of the herb to induce sleep.
Dill was commonly used as a charm against witchcraft in the Middle Ages and was burned to clear thunderclouds.
Its name is derived from the Norse “dylla”, meaning to soothe.
You can find Dill in these itineraries:
