!!!

Fennel Flowers

Fennel Flower

Foeniculum vulgare

Last summer was my first time trying to grow Fennel. It wasn’t a huge success as I had to transplant it and it was in a part of my yard that was hot, red clay. But, she did well enough to get a couple good late season flower photos.

Cultivating Fennel
Fennel is an umbelliferous (aromatic/hollow stem) perennial herb that was said to originate from the Mediterranean but it has been naturalized and shows up roadside all across the world. The name comes from Latin/Old English and the etymology essentially means “hay”. The flowers are umbels (like the Cilantro flower). Umbel has its roots in “umbrella”, which is pretty descriptive of their flat, splayed bloom pattern.

Eat More Fennel!
Fennel tastes a little like Anise, but a bit more mild. It is often mistaken for anise in farmer’s markets or at grocers. The root grows in a bulb structure and the leaves and seeds are also flavorful and edible. Fennel pollen is the most potent part of the plant, but is also the most expensive. It is a delicious little plant with lots of uses. It flavors toothpaste, eggs, meat, soups, desserts and more. It is commonly used in Mediterranean, Chinese, German, Greek and Persian food. A quick search on Google yields some delicious results like this Fennel Blossom Soup (lovely photos too!).

Other Fennel Uses
Fennel is one of the original ingredients in Absinthe, originating in Switzerland as a medicinal elixir and is known as a stimulate. It’s also been used to control chronic coughs and even given to cattle as the fleas don’t like the taste of it. Ha!
Medicinally, Fennel contains Anethole which has some great herbal properties and is 13 times sweeter than sugar. It is the Anethole that gives the Absinthe its cloudy look. Fennel has been sited in use from everything to glaucoma, constipation, increase of breastmilk production, hypertension, colic, and to aid flatulence, etc.