Dill is an annual herb that widely grows in Eurasia and the American region. It is used as a spice or as an ingredient in numerous food recipes. It looks feathery and green. However, the problem arises when people go to buy dill plants or vegetables. They often get confused and mixed dill with several other plants. That awkward thing happens because some plants look exactly similar to the dill plant. Some of them are Dogfennel, Salem Rosemary, Roman chamomile, Absinth Wormwood.
Table of Contents
5 Plants That Looks Like Dill
If you don’t want to make a mistake recognizing the dill plant, you can do two things. Either learn about the dill plant deeply or learn about other plants that look like dill. I think you already know a lot about the dill plant. So in this article, I will describe five plants and their lifestyle that look like dill so that you can get the best value from them. So without further ado, let’s get started-
1. Eupatorium capillifolium (Dogfennel)
The plant is a herbaceous perennial weed. The weed is a plant of the Asteraceae family and has the scientific name Eupatorium capillifolium. The plant has feathery leaves and can sway attractively with airflow. The leaves resemble Dill. Dogfennel foliage has a pleasant aroma which you will find if you crush the foliage. Though the plant has a beautiful aroma, the weed contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, resulting in liver failure if swallowed and toxic to birds and mammals. The plant is sometimes used as insecticides and fungicides. The seeds of the plant are airborne. So, they can be spread wide with the wind. The plant grows well in moist soil, but well-drained soil and full sun location also suit it. Not only these, but the plant can also grow on almost all types of soils, including dry soil, sandy soil, etc. The plant has a reputation of being invasive as spreading rootstock, and airborne seeds let the plant populate faster. Since the plant has a spreading root system, the plant can be tough to wipe out by hand. It would be best if you did not loosely uproot the herb because the plant can re-sprout from a broken or damaged stem. So, try to wipe the plant out before it gets established or matured. Since the plant has attractive foliage, many people grow it in their garden to increase aesthetic gratification. You can try, but it is recommended not to do it because the plant is poisonous, and you need to be careful so that the plant does not get overpopulated. Besides, you need to take care a lot.
2. Salem Rosemary
The Salem Rosemary is an herb that belongs to the Lamiaceae family. The scientific name of the shrub is Rosmarinus officinalis. The herb has feathery foliage that looks like needles. Typically The plant grows up to 30 inches, but different varieties have different heights. The plant has blue color blossoms, and flowers appear on the plant in early spring. The plant has a reputation for being used as spices. Since the plant contains a pretty and strong pine-like fragment, it is widely used in bread, pastries, soups, stews, etc. The plant is worth keeping in anyone’s garden. It is a perennial and evergreen herb. The plant requires a minimum of 6 hours of sun a day. It doesn’t like too much hot or cold or wet weather. The range of soil compatibility for Salem Rosemary is 7-10. It does not like waterlogged soils. You need to have well-drained soil if you want to grow properly. It is recommended to use organic compost at the time of plantation.
The plant doesn’t need water that much but needs water after plantation. Try not to add too much water, especially late in the day, after rainfall, and when there is a possibility of a cold evening. You can plant it in a pot. Make sure that your pot has a good drainage system and the size of the pot is plant-wide. Usually, Salem Rosemary is 14-26 inches wide. So, you may need to use a pot that wide. Fertilizers are a bit necessary to the Rosemary at its early stage, but the mature plant doesn’t need fertilizers. For harvesting, use sharp tools and avoid heavy cutting or cutting into the stem regions.
3. Roman chamomile
The plant is from the Compositae family. The scientific name of the Roman Chamomile is Chamaemelum mobile. The plant is an herb, and the herb is a creeping type growing like a mat. Roman Chamomile grows to 25-32 centimeters. The plant is perennial. The plant is also named English Chamomile or Ground Apple. The plant is recognizable by its flowers. A flower is daisy-like, having white petals surrounding a yellow center. The flower is very popular, believing that it contains such a fragrance and has many medicinal usages like handling nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, intestinal gas, hay fever, etc. Though not all of the benefits have been found through research, it has an apple-pineapple-like aroma, and the plant gives a nice landscape. That’s why the plant is worthy of growing in your foreyard. You can grow either from seed or sapling. The plant is found growing in dry fields. That means the plant likes dry soil. A shady place is recommended, but full sunlight is suitable for the plant. It prefers soils of 6-9 Zones. For best results, mix organic compost with soil, then plant the herb in your pot or pit to cover the rest. You might need to water after plantation. Roman Chamomile is drought tolerant, so you need to not worry about watering. But water when flowers are appearing. Like most herbs, the plant needs almost no fertilizers. But applying fertilizers at their first growth and flower appearing moment is good.
4. Absinth Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
The plant has many regional names like Mugwort, Absinthe Wormwood, etc. The plant belongs to the Asteraceae Family. The scientific name of Mugwort is Artemisia absinthium. The plant is clump-forming perennial and semi-woody or sometimes herbaceous in type. The leaves look feathery but segmented, white-colored below but greenish-gray above. The stem is straight, being 30-50 inches tall. It has flowers having pale yellow color, tubular and capitula heads. Flowers appear on the plant in early summer and last up to early autumn. The plant is widely used to prepare Absinthe spirit and some beverages like Bask, Vermouth, wines, etc. Clippings are sometimes used in chicken nests to repel lice and mites; you can use the plant to control pests. The plant contains Thujone, which causes severe convulsion even if it is fatal to animals and humans if taken in large amounts.
You can use the plant to improve the taste and aroma of your drinks. The plant is easy to grow. You can grow either by seeds or cuttings. It is recommended to plant during spring or autumn. The plant prefers soils of 4-9 Zones. The plant requires a sunny location, and the soil must be well-drained. It prefers Nitrogen-rich soil and lime. The plant also likes slightly acidic soil. Absinth Wormwood is notable for being hardy and being adaptable to poor growing conditions. But you can greatly increase yield by applying fertilizers and watering timely. The plant requires almost no fertilizers, but you need some fertilizers in its first year of growth. Organic fertilizers are always recommended. The plant requires much water at its first stage of growth but requires very little water once it is established. Experts say that it is best to harvest after at least 2 or 3 years. You can use the upper stock of the plant or use the oil extracted from leaves and other parts as a strong antiseptic or pesticide.
5. Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel)
You will find two kinds of fennel plants that look the same as dill plants. One is considered as a natural herb while the other is like a bulb variety veggie. The herb variety thrives 4-5 feet high with great distinctive vegetation. Flat-covered clusters of yellow blossom show up in late summertime. Stems leave as well as seeds of this kind of fennel are gathered as well as made use of. Florence fennel is much shorter with darker environment-friendly vegetation as well as is thrived for its huge, level thick rosette of petioles exactly at the base usually described as a “light bulb.” Both types have licorice or an anise taste. Both kinds of fennel thrive from seed. Both favor a full sunshine place of soil that is well composed of raw material. This is specifically essential when thriving Florence fennel as it likes consistently damp soil to create the most effective “light bulb.” Natural herb fennel is ideally sown in the yard in the springtime after frost is previous. It does not do hair transplant well as a result of its faucet root framework. Herb fennel is utilized in fish meals, soup as well as stews as well as fennel seed is made use of in sausage. Fennel light bulbs are utilized raw in steamed or salads.
How do you identify dill?
Dill is the typical name for a fragrant seasonal herbaceous plant, Anethum graveolens. The parsley household (Apiaceae) is defined by slim stems, carefully divided leaves, and little yellow to white flowers in little umbles.
Dill belongs to the blooming plant family named Apiaceae, an accumulation of typically fragrant plants with radial and hollow stems in proportion to tiny flowers with five little sepals, five petals. More than that, this family consists of several other varieties, including parsley, carrot, caraway, cumin, fennel, celery, parsnip, and Queen Anne’s Lace.
Dill grows about 45 to 65 centimeters (15 to 25 inches), with thin stems along with alternate, carefully divided, gently fragile leaves 12 to 22 centimeters long (4 to 8 inches). The supreme leaf departments are 1.5 to 3 millimeters (0.041 to 0.081 inches) broad, somewhat wider than the comparable leaves of fennel, threadlike, less than 0.9 millimeters (0.049 inches) large, however harder in texture. Plus, The flowers are little yellow to white, in tiny umbels 3 to 10 centimeters (0.81 to 3.6 inches) in size.
Is There Any Wild Variety of Dill Available?
Environments consist of mesic black soil grassy fields, openings or edges near forests, locations along with forest courses, thickets, bluffs, and limestone glades. It frequently grows in grassy sites however is simple to neglect, other than throughout the brief flowering duration.
This herbaceous seasonal plant is 2-3.5 inches high, branching moderately. The slim stems are hairless and round. The alternate substance leaves moderately along the stems; they are twice as pinnate and about 9″ long and half as broad.
2 thoughts on “5 Plants That Looks Like Dill”
Hi William, I chanced upon your website via search to differentiate between dill and dogfennel which I need to be certain what I have is dill and not dogfennel. Could you help me to identify if I send you pictures of them?
Yes. can you send me the pictures?