Foeniculum vulgare dulce steam distilled from the seeds, from France.
Aroma: Fennel Sweet has a spicy, sweet scent, similar to that of black licorice.
History: Fennel comes from the Latin word 'foenum' which means 'hay'. A herb of ancient repute, believed to encourage longevity, courage and strength. The Romans valued it for its digestive properties and the Greeks believed it to be a slimming herb.
Colour: Clear to pale yellow
Common Uses: Fennel Sweet is credited with being an antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, laxative, stimulant, splenic, stomachic, and as a vermifuge. It is also believed to be invigorating, restoring, stimulating, and warming.
Bruises, cellulites, flatulence, gums, halitosis, mouth, nausea, obesity, toxin build-up, water retention. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 56-66.]
I use fennel essential oil in a carrier oil to balance hormones and to bring in breast milk.
Note: A cup of fennel tea from the seeds brings milk in very well. ~ TTF
Constituents: Anethole, Myrcene, Cineole, Eugenol, Methyl Chavicol, Thymol, Limonene, Phellandrene, Alpha Terpene, Pinene, Fenchone, Geraniol [Shirley Price, The Aromatherapy Workbook (Hammersmith, London: Thorsons, 1993), 54-5.]
Consistency: Light
Note: Top
Strength of Aroma: Medium
Cautions: May cause skin irritation. Dilute well before use. Avoid use in sun and if pregnant because it acts on the reproductive hormones.
Safety Information: Fennel Oil is a dermal sensitizer, possibly carcinogenic. Avoid Fennel Oil in instances of endometriosis, prostatic hyperplasia and oestrogen-dependent cancers. [Robert Tisserand, Essential Oil Safety (United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone, 1995), 136.]
Narcotic in large quantities. Avoid in epilepsy and if pregnant. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 145.]
Photo by By H. Dumas (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons