Chervil

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Garden Chervil
Anthriscus cerefolium Kervel plant.jpg
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Sublass: Rosidae
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Anthriscus
Species: A. cerefolium

Binomial name
Anthriscus cerefolium
(L.) Hoffm.

Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium), sometimes called garden chervil, is a delicate annual herb, usually used to season mild-flavoured foods such as poultry, some seafoods, and young vegetables. It is a constituent of the French herb mixture fines herbes. Some cooks refer to chervil as "gourmet's parsley." Chervil is sometimes used as a trap crop by gardeners to protect vegetable plants from slugs.

Classification: Chervil is a member of the parsley or carrot family, Apiaceae.

Folklore

Chervil had various traditional uses. Pregnant women bathed in an infusion of it; a lotion of it was used as a skin cleanser; and it was used medicinally as a blood purifier.

Further reading

  • Howard, Michael. Traditional Folk Remedies (Century, 1987), p.118.

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