All ancient people had ways to treat common ailments. What amazes me is that sometimes they worked, and worked well. Willow bark, for example, was known in many cultures to be good for pain and fever. We now know it contains salicin, a precursor to aspirin. Lately I’ve been researching what medicines are likely to have been used by the Picts. I think fennel may have been one of them, although while it grows in Scotland currently, it’s not a native plant (Encyclopedia Britannica).
Fennel was known by the Romans. According to the Roman author Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) in his Natural History, fennel had twenty-two remedies although I didn’t see where he listed them. Since fennel can easily reseed itself, it’s not hard to imagine a few seeds getting started on Scottish soil when the Romans were trying to invade or even being traded or stolen. The Craft Gin Club mentioned it could be used as a flavoring agent for gin as well as a contraceptive. Upon further research, the contraceptive part is probably not correct because according to the National Geographic, a giant fennel relative, Cyrenian silphium, was used as a contraceptive but was eaten and used to extinction.
WebMD says “Fennel is used by mouth for various digestive problems including heartburn, intestinal gas, bloating, loss of appetite, and colic in infants among others. It is also used on the skin for excessive body hair growth in women, vaginal symptoms after menopause, and to prevent sunburn. But there is limited scientific evidence to support most of these uses.”
However, Our Herb Garden claims it was used as an appetite suppressant and mentions that the Puritans would nibble on fennel seed to get through fasting days. It was also used as a poison antidote and was part of the pagan Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm.
Reading about it makes me want to try growing some even though I’m not really fond of the taste of licorice.
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