Interactions

Dill interacts with many different species ranging from insects, fungi, bacteria, and other plants. I’m going to touch on a few of the most important interactions that dill plants have.

*The dill plant and other members of the Apiaceae family are extremely important to the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly. Dill is one of the main food sources for this organism, as well as a host for the egg and cocoon stages. These dill plants are great for the black swallowtails; however, unfortunately for the dill these beautiful creatures can wipe these plants out in a matter of weeks during their caterpillar stage. Another important interaction between dill and this organism is that the butterfly helps dill pollinate, an important stage of dill's reproduction.
 
*The Anise Swallowtail, a close relative of the Black Swallowtail, also has a very close relationship with dill.


* Bees are also important to the dill plant because they help with the reproduction of dill. Without pollinators such as bees, dill would not be able to cross pollinate!

Learn about the European Honey Bee           

 
*Dill also likely has a mutualistic relationship with endomicorrhizae, which is a type of fungus in the phylum Glomeromycota. These fungi grow inside the root cells of the plant, breaking down essential nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus for the plant in exchange for sugars that the plant produces.


*Dill is very interesting because it produces several compounds, such as d-carvone, that repel certain microbes and pesky insects such as fruit flies. This is important so that dill doesn't get eaten. It has also been observed that a fragrance given off by dill called anethole may be effective in getting rid of hookworms!



    *Talk about a useful organism - dill has also been known to stop the growth of certain bacterium such as E. coli, streptococcus (strep throat), and staphylococcus (staph infection)!

    

 

 

Now that you know about some of dill's interactions with other organisms, go to the Facts page to learn some fun things about dill and to find a couple recipes involving this DILL-icious plant!

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