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Overview
Foeniculum vulgare or Fennel is a fairly hardy perennial herbaceous plant that has feathery leaves and umbells of yellow flowers in summer.
It grows wild in many parts of Europe and is sometimes seen wild in Australia.
It has a sturdy perennial root and stout upright stems.
Fennel provides a graceful backdrop to many herb gardens and can be a useful bedding plant where you need soft, fragranced foliage as a backdrop.
The seeds are the prized crop, yielding aromatic oils - the seeds themselves are used extensively in cooking.
The leaves and stalks are sometimes eaten as a vegetable or added as a garnish for fish.
Soil: Fennel will grow almost anywhere and as a perennial it will last for years.
Prefers plenty of sunshine and will survive in drought conditions.
Maintenance: Requires very little looking after - though keeping it moist will always bear better crops.
N.B. Fennel will self seed very easily so beware if you do not want to maintain it.
Diseases: None of note.
Other Species: There are many types of Fennel - French, Saxon, Galician, Romanian, Russian, Persian and Indian.
The most famous however is Florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Azoricum Group) which has inflated leaf bases rather like a bulb.
It has a mild anise flavor, but a bit sweeter and more aromatic and the plants are smaller than the wild type.
Comments: Fennel is the source of Anis - as used in aniseed and Anis liquers like Absinthe, Pernod and Ouzo.
Plenty of medicinal uses e.g. Gripe Water for babies, in cough medicines, as a flea repellant, as a carminative tea.
The famed herbalist, Culpepper, states that "Fennel will expel wind and provoke urine" - well, there you go.
Author: Bob Saunders.