OENANTHE, defined

Oἰνάνθη, -ἡ 
Oenanthe, -es (f) – meadowsweet?; More likely: first shoot of a vine, thorny plant, water dropwort, pimpinella,

It is difficult to identify oenanthe’s precise modern plant equivalent. Its name suggests that it is related to the grape vine (wine = oinos). However, the medical/flavoring qualities associated to it by some ancient authors are not consistent with the grape vine. Some varieties of water dropwort (modern oenanthe) bear a resemblance to Filipendula vulgaris. It is, perhaps, for this reason that meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) came to be associated with the term oenanthe. This, however, is speculation on my (non-expert) part. Andre (1985, 176) initially (as far as I can tell) made the association of oenanthe with meadowsweet (see also Nelson 2001, fn. 175; 2005, fn. 2.7).

 

Bibliography
Andre, J. 1985. Les noms des plants dans la Rome antique. Paris.

Nelson, M.C. 2001. “Beer in Greco-Roman Antiquity.” Ph.D. diss., U. of British Columbia.

Nelson, M.C. 2005. Barbarian’s Beverage. A History of Beer in Ancient Europe. New York: Routledge.