Dill

Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula; it is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.

The word dill and its close relatives are found in most of the Germanic languages; its ultimate origin is unknown.

The genus name Anethum is the Latin form of Greek ἄνῑσον / ἄνησον / ἄνηθον / ἄνητον, which meant both "dill" and "anise". The form 'anīsum' came to be used for anise, and 'anēthum' for dill. The Latin word is the origin of dill's names in the Western Romance languages ('anet', 'aneldo' etc.), and also of the obsolete English 'anet'.

Dill grows up to 1.5–5 feet (0.46–1.52 m) from a taproot like a carrot. Its stems are slender and hollow with finely divided, softly delicate leaves; the leaves are alternately arranged, 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long with ultimate leaf divisions measuring 1–2 mm (1⁄32–3⁄32 in) broad, slightly broader than the similar leaves of fennel, which are threadlike, less than 1 mm (1⁄16 in) broad, but harder in texture.

In hot or dry weather, small white to yellow scented flowers form in small umbels 1–3+1⁄2 in (2.5–8.9 cm) diameter from one long stalk. The seeds come from dried up fruit 4–5 mm (3⁄16–3⁄16 in) long and 1 mm (1⁄16 in) thick, and straight to slightly curved with a longitudinally ridged surface.

Successful cultivation requires warm to hot summers with high sunshine levels; even partial shade will reduce the yield substantially. It also prefers rich, well-drained soil. The seed is harvested by cutting the flower heads off the stalks when the seed is beginning to ripen. The seed heads are placed upside down in a paper bag and left in a warm, dry place for a week. The seeds then separate from the stems easily for storage in an airtight container.

These plants, like their fennel and parsley relatives, often are eaten by black swallowtail caterpillars in areas where that species occurs. For this reason, they may be included in some butterfly gardens.

Dill has been found in the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep II, dating to around 1400 BC. It was also later found in the Greek city of Samos, around the 7th century BC, and mentioned in the writings of Theophrastus (371–287 BC). In Greek mythology, the dill was originally a young man named Anethus who was transformed into the plant.