Sweet Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Description
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on riverbanks. It is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb used in cookery and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Florence fennel or finocchio is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base that is used as a vegetable. Fennel is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including in its native range the mouse moth and the Old-World swallowtail. Where it has been introduced in North America it may be used by the anise swallowtail. Foeniculum vulgare, called common fennel, is an upright, branching perennial that is typically grown in vegetable and herb gardens for its anise-flavored foliage and seeds, both of which are commonly harvested for use in cooking. It somewhat resembles a very large dill plant. It grows to 3-5- (less frequently to 6-) tall and features feathery, compound, aromatic, yellow-green leaves with needle-like segments and tiny yellow flowers in large, flattened, compound umbels. Flowers bloom in mid- to late summer, and are followed by aromatic seeds. Plants have escaped gardens and naturalized in many parts of North America. Flowers are very attractive to butterflies. Fennel is a larval plant for certain swallowtail butterflies.
Taxonomic tree
-
Domain: Eukarya
-
-
Kingdom: Plantae
-
-
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
-
-
Class: Magnoliopsida
-
-
Order: Apiales
-
-
Family: Apiaceae
-
-
Genus: Foeniculum
-
-
-
-
-
-
