The Herbarium
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Fennel botanical plate

Herb. No. 048 · Apiaceae

RangeFig. atlas
Approximate native range — a teaching atlas, not a survey

Coastal Mediterranean umbellifer, naturalized on waste ground worldwide.

Native · Mediterranean

Native Also grownNow a garden plant worldwide
LegalGentleplant

Fennel

Foeniculum vulgare

Medicinal herbsKitchenHarvestCompanionsLookalikes

Anise-sweet seed for gas, colic folklore, and after-dinner breath.

Sweet fennel seed is a classic carminative. The bulb (Florence fennel) is food. Identify carefully — feathery Apiaceae include deadly lookalikes. Culinary seed is the form with the longest kitchen record.

Flavor

Sweet licorice and warm green anise. Seed is sweeter than leaf.

Parts used

Ripe seed · Bulb and frond as food

Helpful

  • Delicious
  • Easy from seed
  • Seeds store well

Cautions

  • Lookalikes in the wild
  • Estrogenic reputation — caution in hormone-sensitive disease

Do not confuse

Field assistant

Ask about traditional use, safety, or the law. The assistant will not teach illegal cultivation or give medical orders.

Related symptoms

bloatingindigestioncramps

Teas with this plant

Remedies with this plant

  • After-dinner settle

    Adult: one 8 oz cup after the meal. Seed teas: ½ tsp crushed seed. Ginger: 6–8 thin slices in 12 oz, sipped. Not three kinds at once.

  • Savory in the bean pot

    Adult: 1 sprig fresh or ½ tsp dried savory per pot of beans. Seed: ½ tsp crushed. Food first.

Harvest this plant

When to cut, how to dry, and how to store it — garden and kitchen crops only.

Open harvest notes

Companion planting

0 to plant with · 7 to keep apart.

Open companion beds

Lookalikes

2 named mix-ups for this plate.

Open lookalikes