Dill
Parts Usually Used
Seeds, leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Dill is an annual plant; the hollow, finely grooved green stem grows 1-3 feet high and is striped dark green and white with bluish spots. The leaves are bluish-green, bipinnate with filiform leaflets; the base dilates into a sheath surrounding the stem. Flat, compound umbels of yellow flowers appear in clusters from July to September, producing eventually the oval, ribbed dill seeds.
Goes to seed quickly and the seeds are attached to the umbel tips in pairs. Dill roots are not usable for medicine or cooking. Visibly resembles fennel and must be correctly identified before use. While fennel commonly shows many stems from a single root, dill develops one main stem. Newer varieties are shorter.
Where Found
Widely cultivated as a spice but also found growing wild in North and South America and in Europe, South Africa and East Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean. Native to southwestern Asia and the Mediterranean.
Medicinal Properties
Carminative, antispasmodic, stomachic, emmenagogue, diuretic, galactagogue, calmative, aromatic, diaphoretic, stimulant
Biochemical Information
Essential oil, fatty oil, some acids, mineral salts
Legends, Myths and Stories
The common name dill probably comes from the Saxon word dillan, meaning “to dull”, referring to the practice of giving dill to restless babies to make them sleep. Dill was supposed to be effective against witches in the Middle Ages. Dill has been known to us for several thousand years. The Egyptians prized it as highly as did the Greeks and Romans, principally as a culinary herb, but one of medicinal benefit also.
Some say dill is a native of the Orient. Roman war heroes were crowned with garlands of dill as they returned to their city in victory. Romans fed it to gladiators to ease digestion. In colonial times dill was called “meeting seed” for the colonial dames took it to church and ate it during the long sermons in order to keep awake. In the 18th century it was given to babies to lull them to sleep, and to small children to keep them awake in church.
Used in some of the earliest gardens in America for flavoring and pickling.
Uses
Traditional herbalists prepared dill teas using water or white wine as a folk remedy for upset stomach, dyspepsia, flatulence, gas pains, and gastralgia. Historical sources recommended the herb to stimulate appetite, halt hiccoughs, and ease colic, while a decoction of the seeds was traditionally employed for indigestion-related insomnia, nervous tension, swellings, and general discomfort.
Nursing mothers historically took dill, often blended with anise, coriander, fennel, and caraway, with the intention of promoting milk flow. Chewing the seeds was a common practice for sweetening breath, and the plant was sometimes incorporated into low-salt regimens. Additionally, folk traditions held that soaking fingernails in dill-infused water would help strengthen them.
How Sold
As a spice
Warning
Dill is similar to the carrot family, which includes a host of poisonous species that may be mistaken for this medicinal plant.
Bibliography
, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr.
A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974 Country Home Book of Herbs , Meredith Books, Editorial Dept. RW240, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023, copyright 1994 Old Ways Rediscovered , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr.
Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992