Editing Fennel (section)

== Description ==
''Foeniculum vulgare'' is a [[perennial]] herb. The stem is hollow, erect, and [[glaucous]] green, and it can grow up to {{convert|2.1|m|ft|0|abbr=off}} tall.<ref name="FieldGuide" /> The [[leaves]] grow up to {{convert|40|cm|abbr=off}} long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about {{convert|0.5|mm|in|frac=64}} wide. Its leaves are similar to those of [[dill]], but thinner.<ref name="FieldGuide">{{Cite book |last=Spellenberg |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/339/ |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region |publisher=Knopf |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-375-40233-3 |edition=rev |pages=339–340 |orig-date=1979}}</ref>

The [[flower]]s are produced in terminal compound [[umbel]]s {{convert|5–17.5|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} wide,<ref name="FieldGuide"/> each umbel section having 20–50 tiny yellow flowers on short pedicels. The [[fruit]] is a dry [[schizocarp]] from {{convert|4–10|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=16}} long, half as wide or less, and grooved.<ref name="blamey">Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. {{ISBN|0-340-40170-2}}</ref> Since the seed in the fruit is attached to the [[pericarp]], the whole fruit is often mistakenly called "seed".{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

{{gallery
|Fenouil.jpg|Florence fennel bulbs
|Fennel flower heads.jpg|Flower heads
|Foeniculum vulgare - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg|Umbel
|Fennel seed.jpg|Fruits
|Foeniculum vulgare - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-148.jpg|In ''[[Köhler's Medicinal Plants]]'' (1887)
}}

=== Chemistry ===
The [[odor|aromatic]] character of fennel fruits derives from [[volatile oils]] imparting mixed aromas, including trans-[[anethole]] and [[estragole]] (resembling [[liquorice]]), [[fenchone]] ([[Mentha|mint]] and [[camphor]]), [[limonene]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Badgujar |first1=Shamkant B. |last2=Patel |first2=Vainav V. |last3=Bandivdekar |first3=Atmaram H. |date=2014 |title=''Foeniculum vulgare'' Mill: A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Contemporary Application, and Toxicology |journal=BioMed Research International |language=en |volume=2014 |page=842674 |doi=10.1155/2014/842674 |issn=2314-6133 |pmc=4137549 |pmid=25162032 |doi-access=free}}</ref> [[1-octen-3-ol]] ([[mushroom]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Díaz-Maroto |first1=M. C |last2=Díaz-Maroto Hidalgo |first2=I. J |last3=Sánchez-Palomo |first3=E |last4=Pérez-Coello |first4=M. S |year=2005 |title=Volatile components and key odorants of fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'' Mill.) and thyme (''Thymus vulgaris'' L.) oil extracts obtained by simultaneous distillation-extraction and supercritical fluid extraction |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=53 |issue=13 |pages=5385–9 |doi=10.1021/jf050340+ |pmid=15969523}}</ref> Other [[phytochemical]]s found in fennel fruits include [[polyphenol]]s, such as [[rosmarinic acid]] and [[luteolin]], among others in minor content.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Uusitalo |first1=L |last2=Salmenhaara |first2=M |last3=Isoniemi |first3=M |last4=Garcia-Alvarez |first4=A |last5=Serra-Majem |first5=L |last6=Ribas-Barba |first6=L |last7=Finglas |first7=P |last8=Plumb |first8=J |last9=Tuominen |first9=P |last10=Savela |first10=K |year=2016 |title=Intake of selected bioactive compounds from plant food supplements containing fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') among Finnish consumers |journal=Food Chemistry |volume=194 |pages=619–25 |doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.08.057 |pmid=26471600}}</ref>

=== Similar species ===
{{Unreferenced|section|date=April 2024}}

Some plants in the [[Apiaceae]] family are poisonous and often difficult to identify.

[[Dill]], [[coriander]], [[ajwain]], and [[caraway]] are similar-looking herbs but shorter-growing than fennel, reaching only {{convert|40|-|60|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Dill has thread-like, feathery leaves and yellow flowers; coriander and caraway have white flowers and finely divided leaves (though not as fine as dill or fennel) and are also shorter-lived (being annual or biennial plants). The superficial similarity in appearance between these seeds may have led to a sharing of names and etymology, as in the case of meridian fennel, a term for caraway.

[[Ferula communis|Giant fennel]] (''Ferula communis'') is a large, coarse plant with a pungent aroma, which grows wild in the Mediterranean region and is only occasionally grown in gardens elsewhere. Other species of the genus ''Ferula'' are also called giant fennel, but they are not culinary herbs.

In North America, fennel may be found growing in the same habitat and alongside natives osha (''[[Ligusticum porteri]]'') and ''[[Lomatium]]'' species, useful medicinal relatives in the [[parsley]] family.

Most ''Lomatium'' species have yellow flowers like fennel, but some{{which|reason=which species can be confused with hemlock?|date=May 2014}} are white-flowered and resemble poison hemlock. ''Lomatium'' is an important historical food plant of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] known as 'biscuit root'.  Most ''Lomatium'' spp. have finely divided, hairlike leaves; their roots have a delicate rice-like odor, unlike the musty odor of hemlock. ''Lomatium'' species prefer dry, rocky soils devoid of organic material.