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Fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare ), is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum (treated as the sole species in the genus by most botanists). It is a member of the family Apiaceae (formerly the Umbelliferae). It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is generally considered indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean, but has become widely naturalised elsewhere (particularly, it seems, areas colonized by the Romans [ 1 ] ) and may now be found growing wild in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on river-banks.
It is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal uses, and 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 the Mouse Moth and the Anise Swallowtail
The word fennel developed from the Middle English fenel or fenyl , and is pronounced finocchio in Italian. 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 Ancient Greek, fennel was called marathon (μάραθον), and is attested in Linear B tablets as ma-ra-tu-wo . John Chadwick notes that this word is the origin of the place name Marathon (meaning "place of fennel"), site of the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC; however, Chadwick wryly notes that he has "not seen any fennel growing there now". [ 2 ] 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. [ 3 ]
Fennel is widely cultivated, both in its native range and elsewhere, for its edible, strongly-flavoured leaves and seeds. Its aniseed flavour comes from anethole, an aromatic compound also found in anise and star anise, and its taste and aroma are similar to theirs, though usually not as strong. [ 5 ]
The Florence fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare Azoricum Group; syn. F. vulgare var. azoricum ) is a cultivar group with inflated leaf bases which form a bulb-like structure. It is of cultivated origin, [ 6 ] and has a mild anise-like flavour, but is more aromatic and sweeter. Florence fennel plants are smaller than the wild type. [ citation needed ] Their inflated leaf bases are eaten as a vegetable, both raw and cooked. There are several cultivars of Florence fennel, which is also known by several other names, notably the Italian name finocchio . In North American supermarkets, it is often mislabelled as "anise". [ citation needed ]
Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum', "bronze-leaved" fennel, is widely available in the UK where it is grown as a decorative garden plant. [ 7 ]
Fennel has become naturalised along roadsides, in pastures, and in other open sites in many regions, including northern Europe, the United States, southern Canada and in much of Asia and Australia. It propagates well by seed, and is considered an invasive species and a weed in Australia and the United States [ 8 ] (see Santa Cruz Island).
Florence fennel was one of the three main herbs used in the preparation of absinthe, an alcoholic mixture which originated as a medicinal elixir in Switzerland and became, by the late 19th century, a popular alcoholic drink in France and other countries. Fennel itself is known to be a stimulant, [ 9 ] although many modern preparations marketed under the name "absinthe" do not make use of it. [ citation needed ]