Dill
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryotes Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Apiales Family: Apiaceae Genus: Anethum Species: graveolens Dill 'weed' approx 6 ft
Scientific name
Anethum graveolens

Dill (Anethum graveolens) is a short-lived, European, annual herb. Dill seeds are used to flavor pickles; the fernlike leaves (called dill weed) are used to flavor many other foods, such as borscht. It is an umbelliferous plant, very like the caraway, its leaves, which are aromatic, being used in soups and pickles.

This name dill is derived from a Norse word which means to soothe, the plant having the carminative property of allaying pain. The common dill, Anethum graveolens, is an annual growing wild in the cornfields of Spain and Portugal and the south of Europe generally.

There is also a species of dill cultivated in Eastern countries known by the name of shubit. It was this species of garden plant of which the Pharisees were in the habit of paying tithes. The Talmud requires that the seeds, leaves, and stem of dill shall pay tithes. Jesus rebuked them for tithing dill but omitting mercy.

Classification: Dill is a member of the parsley or carrot family, Apiaceae (formerly Umbelliferae).

(Catalan anet; Spanish eneldo)

Cultivation

Dill can grow it at least USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 7. While it prefers sun, even in partial shaded areas a crop of seeds can be harvested.