Fennel

Appearance

Fennel, "Foeniculum vulgare", is a perennial herb. It is erect, glaucous green, and grows to heights of up to 2.5 m, with hollow stems. The leaves grow up to 40 cm long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform, about 0.5 mm wide. The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels 5–15 cm wide, each umbel section having 20–50 tiny yellow flowers on short pedicels. The fruit is a dry seed from 4–10 mm long, half as wide or less, and grooved.

Naming

The word "fennel" developed from the Middle English "fenel" or "fenyl". This came from the Old English "fenol" or "finol", which in turn came from the Latin "feniculum" or "foeniculum", the diminutive of "fenum" or "faenum", meaning "hay". The Latin word for the plant was "ferula", which is now used as the genus name of a related plant. As Old English "finule" it is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon "Nine Herbs Charm", recorded in the 10th century.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus used the stalk of a fennel plant to steal fire from the gods. Also, it was from the giant fennel, "Ferula communis", that the Bacchanalian wands of the god Dionysus and his followers were said to have come.Many species in the family Apiaceae are superficially similar to fennel, and some, such as poison hemlock, are toxic. It is therefore unwise, and potentially extremely dangerous, to use any part of any of these plants as a herb or vegetable unless it can be positively identified as being edible.

Dill, coriander and caraway are similar-looking herbs, but shorter-growing than fennel, reaching only 40–60 cm; dill has thread-like, feathery leaves and yellow flowers; coriander and caraway have white flowers and finely divided leaves and are also shorter-lived. The superficial similarity in appearance between these may have led to a sharing of names and etymology, as in the case of meridian fennel, a term for caraway.

Cicely, or sweet cicely, is sometimes grown as a herb; like fennel, it contains anethole, and therefore has a similar aroma, but it is lower-growing, has large umbels of white flowers, and its leaves are fern-like rather than threadlike.

Giant fennel is a large, coarse plant, with a pungent aroma, which grows wild in the Mediterranean region and is only occasionally grown in gardens elsewhere. Other species of the genus "Ferula" are also commonly called giant fennel, but they are not culinary herbs.

The most dangerous plant which might be confused with fennel is probably hemlock. Hemlock tends to grow near water or in consistently moist soil, is tall, has purple blotches on the main stem, and is heavily branched, with small umbels of white flowers. A useful test to distinguish between it and fennel is to crush some leaves and smell them. Fennel smells like anise or liquorice, whereas the smell of poison hemlock is often described as mouse-like or musty. But take care: coniine, a toxin contained in poison hemlock, can be absorbed through the skin, so do not do this "smell test" with bare hands unless you can wash them immediately afterwards.

Fennel is found growing, in North America, in the same habitat and alongside natives osha and "Lomatium" species, useful medicinal relatives in the parsley family.

"Lomatium" is an important historical food plant of Native Americans, known as "biscuit root". Most "Lomatium" species have yellow flowers, like fennel, but some are white flowered and closely resemble poison hemlock. Most "Lomatium" spp. have finely divided, hairlike leaves; their roots have a delicate rice-like odor, unlike the musty odor of hemlock. "Lomatium" species tend to prefer dry rocky soils devoid of organic material.

Osha, "Ligusticum porteri", has white flowers and finely-divided leaves, similar to poison hemlock, but not as fine as fennel or dill. The leaves are intensely fragrant with a "spicy celery" odor, unlike the musty or "mousy" smell of poison hemlock, but care should be taken in checking this characteristic, as the fresh juice is astringent and can cause blistering.

Evolution

The word "fennel" developed from the Middle English "fenel" or "fenyl". This came from the Old English "fenol" or "finol", which in turn came from the Latin "feniculum" or "foeniculum", the diminutive of "fenum" or "faenum", meaning "hay". The Latin word for the plant was "ferula", which is now used as the genus name of a related plant. As Old English "finule" it is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon "Nine Herbs Charm", recorded in the 10th century.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus used the stalk of a fennel plant to steal fire from the gods. Also, it was from the giant fennel, "Ferula communis", that the Bacchanalian wands of the god Dionysus and his followers were said to have come.