When was fennel discovered and who discovered it?

Answer 1

Fennel originated throughout the Mediterranean Basin. Its Greek name, marathon, means “grow thin,” reflecting the ancient belief in fennel’s ability to suppress appetite. The town of Marathon, site of the famous battle between the Athenians and the Persians in 490 BC, means “place of fennel”. After the battle, the Athenians used woven fennel stalks as a symbol of victory. In Greek mythology Prometheus, who brought fire to mankind, concealed it in a stalk of fennel. The thyrsus was a stalk of fennel capped with a pine cone that was used as a wand by followers of Dionysus. Greek myths also hold that knowledge was delivered to man by the gods at Olympus in a fennel stalk filled with coal. Fennel was revered by the Greeks and the Romans for its medicinal and culinary properties.

Roman warriors reportedly consumed fennel to make them strong. The Roman writer and philosopher Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) wrote that “Fennel has a wonderful property to mundify our sight and take away the film that overcasts and dims our eyes.”

Charlemagne, the great emperor, declared in 812 AD (CE) that fennel was essential in every garden because it had healing properties. He had it grown in the imperial gardens. The Anglo Saxons used fennel as a spice and digestive. They also hung fennel above their doors to protect them from evil spirits, especially at the summer solstice.

In 13th century England, fennel seed was commonly used as an appetite suppressant to help people to get through fasting days. Later, they were often used in church during long services to keep stomachs from rumbling. The Puritans even called them “meeting seeds.”

Starting in the 16th century, the Doctrine of Signatures taught that the physical appearance of plants revealed their medicinal values. It was thought that fennel’s yellow flowers were linked to the liver’s yellow bile, so fennel was recommended for jaundice.

Nicholas Culpepper, the 17th century herbalist, prescribed fennel for flatulence, breast milk production, clear eye sight and to “make people lean who hath grown fat.” Along with caraway, dill seeds, and anise seeds, fennel seeds are used in gripe water, a folk remedy for infants with colic, gastrointestinal discomfort, teething pain, reflux, and other stomach ailments.

In the late 18th century, fennel became one of the ingredients (along with anise and wormwood) in a patent medicinal elixir called absinthe. This elixir was soon marketed as a spirit, and became a popular drink among self-described Bohemians in Europe and the United States.

Today fennel (especially the bulb) is most popular in Europe. The seeds are common in spice racks around the world.

Answer 2

It was discovered by people before our time. They probably came over with ships, and saw it flying in the sky with mountain cookies. The End.