Why is fennel the birth flower of Libra?
Fennel is also originally named xiao huai xiang, also known as xiang si cai, xiao hui xiang, hui xiang zi, gu xiang (Sichuan, Guizhou) and hun xiang. The stems and tender leaves of xiao hui xiang can be used as a vegetable, and the seasoning xiao hui xiang is the dried mature fruit of the fennel plant.
Fennel was first recorded in the Tang Bencao. Su Song said that northerners call it hui xiang, which sounds close to huai xiang. Tao Hongjing said: when boiling foul-smelling meat, add a little and there is no foul odor; even foul-smelling sauce becomes fragrant when the powder is added, hence it is called hui xiang. Li Shizhen said that common folk often hold it in their lapels and chew it, so perhaps the name huai xiang comes from this. The fruit (xiao hui xiang) is used as a spice and also for medicinal purposes; the roots, leaves and the whole plant can all be used as medicine.
Fennel
Floral materials for arrangements:
Fennel is an excellent filler floral material for arrangements, blooming with yellow flowers in summer in compound umbels. It is suitable for filling the spaces between mass flowers to add a sense of layering.
Flower meaning: both talent and beauty. Suitable pairings: roses, cornflowers, blue mallow, rose hips, hibiscus, lemongrass...
Spice plant:
Xiao hui xiang is an important spice plant. Both the leaves and the fruit have a distinctive aroma. After the tender leaves are washed and finely cut, they can be mixed with salt, monosodium glutamate, sesame oil and other seasonings and eaten as a salad; they taste fresh and fragrant and can stimulate the appetite. They can also be used as filling for dumplings or steamed buns. The fruit is mostly used as a spice, in alcoholic drinks and candies, or added to fish, meat and sauces, where it removes fishiness and enhances aroma and can also increase appetite; ground into powder, it can be used to make five-spice powder for seasoning noodles and other foods. Xiao hui xiang can also be used in medicinal dishes, such as stir-fried pork kidneys with fennel, which can tonify the kidneys and relieve pain; braised beef with fennel can warm the liver and stomach, promote the flow of qi and relieve pain. Fennel congee can dispel cold and relieve pain. Fennel and ginger sugar soup can treat colds, hernia pain, cold stomach pain and so on.
Fennel
Medicinal plant:
Xiao hui xiang is an important medicinal plant, and its fruit is an important traditional Chinese medicine. It is pungent in taste and warm in nature, and has the effects of promoting the flow of qi and relieving pain, strengthening the stomach and dispelling cold. It mainly treats stomach cold pain, cold pain in the lower abdomen, dysmenorrhea, pain in the abdomen and hypochondrium, hernia pain, testicular hydrocele, schistosomiasis and so on.
Daily necessities:
Xiao hui xiang mainly contains volatile oils and other components, including anethole, fenchone, limonene, anisaldehyde and so on. The essential oil extracted from the fruit and stems and leaves of xiao hui xiang has a wide range of uses and can be used in flavorings for toothpaste, tooth powder, soap, perfume, cosmetics and so on. Fennel essential oil has good preservative effects and can be used for pickled foods. In bars in North Africa and in Greece and other countries along the Mediterranean coast, a fennel liquor is popular; it contains fennel essential oil, has a rich and unique aroma, and when water or ice cubes are added, within 1 second the transparent liquor becomes cloudy and turns into a milky white cloudy liquor. Herbal tea made from xiao hui xiang has the effects of warming the kidneys and dispelling cold and harmonizing the stomach and regulating qi, and it also has a certain effect on abdominal bloating caused by overeating and on menstrual pain in women.
Tobacco shreds:
Tobacco shreds made from the stems and leaves of xiao hui xiang, because they contain no nicotine and have low tar content, pose little harm to the human body, burn similarly to tobacco leaf and have a rich aroma, and are expected to become a new type of cigarette substitute.
Edible value:
There is also a bulb fennel that can be eaten, also called heading fennel or sweet fennel. It is a variety of fennel and is similar in form to fennel. Its edible part is the thick fleshy bulbous stem formed by the bases of the leaf sheaths clasping each other, and it has a unique fragrance and sweetness. It can be served cold, stir-fried, made into soup or pickled, and can also be made into filling for dumplings or steamed buns. As for star anise or da liao, it refers to the fruit of the Magnoliaceae plant star anise.
Fennel
Libra is the most elegant and friendliest of the twelve zodiac signs. People born under the blessing of this flower not only have outstanding appearance but also enviable intelligence. There are countless members of the opposite sex who want to win your favor and your heart. However, under the influence of fennel, you become very fragile when facing adversity, so you will feel very depressed once you break up. Be careful!