Foeniculum vulgare Mill.

 

= Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare 

 

Apiaceae (Carrot Family)

 

Europe

 

Sweet Fennel  

 

Sweet Anise

                                        August Photo

 

Plant Characteristics:  Erect perennial herb, with anise odor, 1-2 m. high, with striate branching stems, glaucous; lf.-blades ovate to deltoid in outline, to ca. 3 dm. long, pinnately decompound into filiform divisions 4-10 mm. long; petioles broadly sheathing; fls. yellow, in large compound umbels; rays 15-40 +/- unequal, 1-6 cm. long; fr. oblong, 3.5-4 mm. long, the ribs acute; oil tubes solitary in the intervals.

 

Habitat:  Common in waste places especially in s. and cent. Calif.  May-Sept.

 

Name:  Latin, foenum, hay, because of the odor.  (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 76).   Vulgare means that it is common. (Dale 47).

 

General:  Very common in the study area.  Photos from the Santa Ana Heights area. (my comments).     It is reported that in Spanish days, Sweet Fennel was spread on the mission floors to give a pleasant scent when bruised by the feet of the congregation.  True licorice comes from the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a member of the pea family.  (Dale 47).     Ancient Egyptians, Hindus and Chinese used fennel seeds for spices.  The Romans, then as now cultivated it for its seeds and edible shoots.  The fragrant fronds were made into garlands with which to crown victorious warriors.  The young stems before they flower, when still tender, are cooked like celery, much of the anise flavor being dissipated in the cooking.  Tea can be made by steeping Fennel leaves in hot water. (Clarke 150).     Fennel flowers and leaves together will make a yellow dye.  (lecture by Charlotte Clarke, author of Useful and Edible Plants of California, April 1987).     True anise is genus Pimpinella.  (ref. not recorded).      Common fennel, Foeniculum vulgare, yielded a volatile oil prepared from the dried ripe fruit as a stimulant of fairly good flavor. (Fielder 213).       If one wanted to modify the action of purgatives, it was said that dried ripe fruit of fennel, F. vulgare, would serve the purpose, and volatile oil prepared from fennel would also act against gas on the stomach.  (Fielder 104).     Fennel, F. vulgare and coriander, Coriandrum sativum, were both added to other medicines as a flavoring agent.  (Fielder 226).       Delfina Cuero, a Kumeyaay or Southern Diegueno Indian, made the following comments about Foeniculum vulgare in her autobiography:  "We boiled the seeds to drink the liquid as a tea for stomach aches."  (Shipek 90).        Fennel seeds are used in black bread, rolls, pastries, sauerkraut, sweet pickles, soups, roast pork, sauces, fish, etc.  Certain spices prevent food's edible fats from turning rancid according to scientists of India.  Previously it has been assumed that spices were added to foods to cover up the rancidity or decay.  They report that Cumin, Caraway or Fennel seeds, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Pepper and red Chilies are among the spices that will preserve fats even under very severe oxidation tests.  The following is taken from Phillips "Kitchen Garden", printed in 1831: "French epicures keep their fish in Fennel herb to make them firm.  In France the herb is used in all fish soups".  An old recipe to relieve hiccoughs advises chewing Fennel or Anise seed, and swallowing the juice.  (Meyer 182, 187, 208).           An excellent remedy for small children.  For colic, the herb should be steeped and given in small doses every half-hour until the infant or child is relieved.  (Kloss 239).          The larvae of the Anise Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio zelicaon, feed on sweet fennel, Foeniculum vulgare. (No author, sbnature, A Journal of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Spring 2004/Vol. 2, No. 1, 6-8).       Four species of the Old World.  (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 76).       Native to southern Europe. One species.    Widely escaped from cultivation.  Locally abundant and invasive.  (Hickman, Ed. 148). 

 

Text Ref:  Hickman, Ed. 148; Munz, Calif. Flora 1016; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 76; Roberts 7.

Photo Ref:  June 6 83 # 4,5; July-Sept 96 # 18,19.

Identity: by R. De Ruff.  

First Found: June 1983.

 

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 140.

No plant specimen.

Last edit 10/12/04.  

 

                      August Photo                                                  June Photo