Foeniculum vulgare

Foeniculum vulgare — fennel

Foeniculum vulgare is the botanical name for fennel, an aromatic plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae) grown both as a feathery herb and, in its Florence form, as a crisp vegetable bulb. It spans our aromatic herbs and, as Florence fennel, our stem vegetables, with its own fennel collection.

History & origin

Fennel is native to the Mediterranean and has been valued since antiquity for its sweet, aniseed scent. The ancient Greeks knew it as marathon — the famous battle, and the modern running race, take their name from a plain where fennel grew. Greeks and Romans used it as food, medicine and a symbol of strength and victory, and it spread with them across Europe. The swollen-based Florence fennel, grown as a vegetable, was developed later in Italy.

Its name nods to that fine foliage: Foeniculum comes from the Latin for “little hay,” after the scent, and vulgare means “common.”

Botanical characteristics

Herb fennel is a tall perennial grown for its feathery leaves and aromatic seeds, including handsome bronze forms for the border; Florence fennel is grown as an annual for the crisp, aniseed-flavoured bulb at its base. Both carry flat umbels of yellow flowers that are superb for hoverflies and other beneficial insects, making fennel a useful pollinator plant as well as a kitchen one.

Growing Foeniculum vulgare from seed

Sow direct in warm soil, as fennel dislikes being transplanted. Herb fennel is easy and long-lived in a sunny, well-drained spot; Florence fennel needs richer, moist soil and a careful sowing time, since cold or drought makes it bolt instead of bulbing. Our herb growing guide and vegetable sowing calendar cover both.

Ready to grow fennel? Browse the varieties or learn the basics first.

Related categories: Fennel · Aromatic Herbs · Stem Vegetables · Culinary Herbs · All Herb Seeds

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