Fennel

      Fennel:  This member of the celery family is a well-known herb native to southern Europe and western Asia, but it was known in ancient China (as xiao hui xiang) as well as in India, Egypt, and Greece.  In the Middle Ages it was prized as a vegetable and it is still appreciated for its flavor today. Colonists brought it to the New World.  Some herbal references distinguish between sweet and bitter fennel. Although the entire plant is edible, only the fruits ("seeds") and their essential oil are used medicinally.  The fruits are collected in August and September when they are ripe and then dried.  In China, it is considered a "wind-dispelling herb," restoring normal stomach function, dispersing cold, and restoring the flow of qi (pronounced chee). Aside from the specifically Chinese concept of qi, these uses are remarkably similar to those in European herbal medicine.