View source for 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
|authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli|Scop.]]<ref name=POWO_845120-1/>
|synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO_845120-1>{{citation |title=''Myrrhis odorata'' (L.) Scop. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:845120-1 |access-date=4 July 2021 }}</ref>
|synonyms =
  {{Species list
  |Chaerophyllum odoratum|(L.) [[Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz|Crantz]]
  |Lindera odorata|(L.) [[Paul Friedrich August Ascherson|Asch.]]
  |Myrrhis brevipedunculata|Hoffm.
  |Myrrhis iberica|Hoffm.
  |Myrrhis sulcata|Lag.
  |Scandix odorata|L.
  |Selinum myrrhis|[[Ernst Hans Ludwig Krause|E.H.L.Krause]]
  }}
}}

'''''Myrrhis odorata''''', with [[common name]]s '''cicely''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|s|əl|i}} {{respell|SISS|ə|lee}}), '''sweet cicely''',<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Cicely|volume=6|page=353}}</ref> '''myrrh''', '''garden myrrh''', and '''sweet chervil''',<ref>{{citation |url=https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=102117 |title=USDA GRIN Taxonomy |access-date=9 April 2017}}</ref> is a [[herbaceous]] [[perennial plant]] belonging to the celery [[family (biology)|family]] [[Apiaceae]]. It is the only [[species]] in the genus '''''Myrrhis'''''.<ref name=POWO_30018162-2>{{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 }}</ref>

==Etymology==
The genus name ''Myrrhis'' derives from the Greek word myrrhis [μυρρίς], an aromatic oil from Asia. The Latin [[specific epithet]] ''odorata'' means ''scented''.<ref name=fb>{{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 }}</ref><ref name=fa>{{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}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File: Illustration Myrrhis odorata0.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Illustration of ''Myrrhis odorata'']] ''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.<ref name="tfb">{{Cite book |last=Francis-Baker |first=Tiffany |title=Concise Foraging Guide |date=2021 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |isbn=978-1-4729-8474-6 |series=[[The Wildlife Trusts]] |location=London |pages=71}}</ref> 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 [[flower]]s are creamy-white, about 2–4&nbsp;mm across, produced in large [[umbel]]s. The flowering period extends from May to June.<ref>{{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 }}</ref> The [[fruit]]s are slender, dark brown, 15–25&nbsp;mm long and 3–4&nbsp;mm broad.<ref name=Stace>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{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 }}</ref>

==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.<ref name=fb/><ref name=BRC>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{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 }}</ref> In the British Isles it is most abundant in northern England and eastern Scotland.<ref name=BRC/>

==Cultivation and uses==
In fertile soils it grows readily from seed, and may be increased by division in spring or autumn.<ref>{{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 }}</ref>

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).<ref name="tfb" /> It has a history of use as a medicinal herb.<ref name=fb/>

Like its relatives anise, [[fennel]], and [[caraway]], it can be used to flavour [[akvavit]].<ref>{{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 }}</ref> Its essential oils are dominated by [[anethole]].<ref>[http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/S/SweetCicely/SweetCicely.htm Wild Flower Finder]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline|Myrrhis}}
*{{Commons-inline}}
{{Herbs & spices}}
{{Edible Apiaceae}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q1137175|from2=Q2722301}}

[[Category:Edible Apiaceae]]
[[Category:Herbs]]
[[Category:Apioideae]]