Cicely
{{short description|Genus of flowering plants in the celery family Apiaceae}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{for|the American herb|Osmorhiza}}
{{other uses}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Apiaceae - Myrrhis odorata.JPG
|image_caption = Flowers of Myrrhis odorata at the Giardino Botanico Alpino Chanousia
|display_parents = 4
|genus = Myrrhis
|parent_authority = Mill.
|species = odorata
|synonyms =
{{Species list
|Chaerophyllum odoratum|(L.) Crantz
|Lindera odorata|(L.) Asch.
|Myrrhis brevipedunculata|Hoffm.
|Myrrhis iberica|Hoffm.
|Myrrhis sulcata|Lag.
|Scandix odorata|L.
|Selinum myrrhis|E.H.L.Krause
}}
}}
Myrrhis odorata, with common names cicely ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|s|əl|i}} {{respell|SISS|ə|lee}}), sweet cicely,{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Cicely|volume=6|page=353}} myrrh, garden myrrh, and sweet chervil,{{citation |url=https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=102117 |title=USDA GRIN Taxonomy |access-date=9 April 2017}} is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus Myrrhis.{{citation |title=Myrrhis Mill. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30018162-2 |access-date=4 July 2021 }}
Etymology
The genus name Myrrhis derives from the Greek word myrrhis [μυρρίς], an aromatic oil from Asia. The Latin specific epithet odorata means scented.{{cite web |first=Maud |last=Grieve |author-link=Maud Grieve |url=https://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cicswe67.html |work=Botanical.com: A Modern Herbal |title=Cicely, Sweet |access-date=22 December 2023 }}{{cite web |url=http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com/engl/Myrr_odo.html |work=Germot Katzers Spice Pages |title=Cicely (Myrrhis odorata [L.] Scop.) |access-date=22 December 2023}}
Description
File: Illustration Myrrhis odorata0.jpg Myrrhis odorata is a tall herbaceous perennial plant growing to {{convert|2|m|ft|frac=2}} tall and {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}} wide.{{Cite book |last=Francis-Baker |first=Tiffany |title=Concise Foraging Guide |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4729-8474-6 |series=The Wildlife Trusts |location=London |pages=71}} The leaves are fernlike, 2–4-pinnate, finely divided, feathery, up to {{Convert|50|cm}} long, with whitish patches near the rachis. The plant is softly hairy and smells strongly of aniseed when crushed. The flowers are creamy-white, about 2–4 mm across, produced in large umbels. The flowering period extends from May to June.{{cite web |url=https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Myrrhis+odorata |work=Plants for a future |title= Myrrhis odorata - (L.)Scop. |access-date=22 December 2023 }} The fruits are slender, dark brown, 15–25 mm long and 3–4 mm broad.{{cite book | last=Stace | first=C. A. | author-link = Stace, C. A.|year=2010 |title=New Flora of the British Isles | edition=Third |publisher=Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge, U.K. | page=450 | isbn=9780521707725 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.habitas.org.uk/flora/species.asp?item=3645 |work=Flora of Northern Ireland |title=Myrrhis odorata (L.) Scop. - Sweet Cicely - Umbelliferae / Apiaceae |access-date=22 December 2023 }}
Distribution and habitat
Myrrhis odorata is native to mountains of southern and central Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus. It has been introduced and naturalized elsewhere in cultivated areas, woodland margins, roadside verges, river banks and grassland.{{cite web |url=https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.5ek |work=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora |title=Sweet Cicely Myrrhis odorata (L.) Scop. |access-date=2 May 2017 }}{{cite web |url=http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/apia/myrrh/myrrodov.jpg |work=Linnnaeus.nrm.se |title=Myrris odorata, native & introduced |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020223182650/http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/apia/myrrh/myrrodov.jpg |access-date=22 December 2023|archive-date=23 February 2002 }} In the British Isles it is most abundant in northern England and eastern Scotland.
Cultivation and uses
In fertile soils it grows readily from seed, and may be increased by division in spring or autumn.{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/11303/Myrrhis-odorata/Details |work=Royal Horticultural Society |title=Myrrhis odorata |access-date=22 December 2023 }}
Its leaves are sometimes used as a herb, either raw or cooked, with a rather strong or sweet taste similar to anise. Also edible are the roots (cooked like parsnips) and seeds (chewed raw). It has a history of use as a medicinal herb.
Like its relatives anise, fennel, and caraway, it can be used to flavour akvavit.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/sweet-cicely |title=The Gourmet Food & Cooking Resource |access-date=28 September 2014 |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206154657/https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/sweet-cicely |url-status=usurped }} Its essential oils are dominated by anethole.[http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/S/SweetCicely/SweetCicely.htm Wild Flower Finder]
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{Wikispecies-inline|Myrrhis}}
- {{Commons-inline}}
{{Herbs & spices}}
{{Edible Apiaceae}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q1137175|from2=Q2722301}}