Anise Ordinary. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Beneficial Features. Spicy Aromatic Herbs. Garden Plants. Photo

Anise Ordinary. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Beneficial Features. Spicy Aromatic Herbs. Garden Plants. Photo
Anise Ordinary. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Beneficial Features. Spicy Aromatic Herbs. Garden Plants. Photo

Video: Anise Ordinary. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Beneficial Features. Spicy Aromatic Herbs. Garden Plants. Photo

Video: Anise Ordinary. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Beneficial Features. Spicy Aromatic Herbs. Garden Plants. Photo
Video: Top 10 Herbs to Grow 2024, March
Anonim

Common anise (Anisum vulgare) - Celery family (Apiaceae)

An annual herb. Taproot, thin; stem erect, finely grooved, short pubescent, up to 50 cm tall. The lower leaves are whole, notched-toothed or lobed, the middle ones are trifoliate. The flowers are small, white or cream-colored, collected in complex umbrellas. The fruit is an ovate, grayish-green, two-seed, covered with soft hairs.

Anise seeds
Anise seeds

© David Monniaux

The homeland of anise is the Mediterranean countries. In the Eastern Mediterranean, anise has been cultivated since ancient times. In India, he was already known in the 5th century. n. e. Ancient Chinese and medieval Arabic medicine used it. Anise came to Western Europe thanks to the Romans. In the XII century. it began to be cultivated in Spain in the 17th century. - in England.

Since 1830, anise was introduced into the culture in Russia, where it was grown mainly in the former Voronezh province. Currently, the main areas of industrial cultivation of anise are concentrated in the Belgorod and partly in the Voronezh regions. Domestic varieties of anise - 'Alekseevsky 68', 'Alekseevsky 1231' and others.

Useful properties. Anise fruits contain from 1.5 to 4.0% of essential oil, which has a characteristic aroma and sweet taste. Anise fruits, as well as the essential oil obtained from them, are widely used in bakery, fish and meat industries, confectionery and alcoholic beverage production, soap making, perfumery, and medicine.

Anise illustration
Anise illustration

Anise is known for a long time as a medicinal plant. The Greeks and Romans used the fruit to whet their appetite. It is believed that the smell of anise causes restful sleep, so it is drunk for insomnia. Anise oil is rubbed onto the skin to prevent mosquito bites. In modern medicine, in particular in pediatrics, preparations from the fruits of anise are used for whooping cough, bronchitis, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, tracheitis, laryngitis, as well as for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Young tender anise leaves are added to fruit and vegetable salads, especially from beets and carrots, as well as side dishes. Unripe umbrellas are used for salting cucumbers, zucchini, squash, fruits - for baking buns, cookies, and gingerbread. The powder from the fruits is added to milk and fruit soups, when cooking jam, jams from plums, apples, pears, to sweet and sour sauces, compotes, jelly.

Anise ordinary, or Aniseed thigh (Pimpinella anisum)
Anise ordinary, or Aniseed thigh (Pimpinella anisum)

Agrotechnics. The most favorable for growing anise are chernozemic, fertile soils with a good structure, but it also grows well on loose loamy and sandy loam soils with a sufficient amount of humus and lime. Clay and saline soils are not suitable for growing anise. It is undesirable to place it in areas where coriander was grown.

Anise is propagated by seeds, it is recommended to germinate them before sowing. To do this, the seeds are abundantly moistened and kept under a film for three days. When germinating 3-5% of seeds, they are dried to a loose state and sown. The seeding depth is 2-3 cm. Anise seedlings easily tolerate small spring frosts, so the seeds are sown in early spring, at the end of April. Anise seeds fall off easily, so the plants (in the phase of waxy ripeness of fruits on the central umbrella) are cut at a height of 10 cm, tied in small bunches and left to ripen. Ripe fruits are threshed, dried and cleaned from possible impurities. For greens, anise is removed before flowering.

Decorativeness. The openwork, heavily dissected, dark green leaves make anise decorative throughout the season. During flowering, the plant is adorned with delicate white or creamy inflorescences. Anise looks good in group plantings.

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