Fennel

Foeniculum vulgare

Fennel is a favourite in everyone’s kitchen. It’s loved by gardeners and highly respected by herbalists for its calming effects on digestion – and life as a whole.

The two varieties of Foeniculum vulgate; sweet fennel (F. vulgare var. dulce) and bitter fennel (F. vulgare var. vulgare). We have the sweet variety here at Earthsong Seeds. Both are bluish-green biennial or perennial herbs that can grow to a height of 2.5 m They are perennial plants that thrive in dry, hot climates. As with other members of the Apiaceae (carrot or parsley family), fennel displays small flowers in distinctive ascendant umbels, similar to those of cow parsley. It can be most easily identified by its large, beautiful, aniseed-scented feathery leaves. Depending on the country of origin and the latitude where it is grown, fennel plants produce seeds with varied essential oil composition: it is this that determines the sweetness and bitterness of the plant.

Many people associate fennel with the bulbous base of the plant that is cooked as a vegetable. This is a modified variety that has been created through years of careful selection and breeding. Known as Florence fennel (or Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum), this variety is much shorter in height than the therapeutic sweet and bitter varieties.

Fennel is as delicious as it is good for your digestion; use the sweet flavoured essential oils in the leaves and seeds can be used in herbal teas and as a cooking ingredient. Easy to grow, the plant reaches for the sky producing hundreds of yellow flowers.

Categories: Herbs, Seed Packs

Images

Sowing and Growing

Sow the seed directly outdoors once the soil has warmed up in mid-late spring. Thin out the seedlings as they grow, allowing a spacing of around 30cm between the plants. Or sow indoors in modules in early spring, ensuring the roots aren’t disturbed when transplanted out. Easy to grow, the plant reaches heights of around 8 feet and prefers full sunshine and well-drained soils.

Uses and Benefits

The ancient Greek hero Prometheus was said to have carried the fire he stole from the gods (ie the source of human special powers) in a fennel stalk and the plant has long had an important place in European life. It is a well-known culinary herb or vegetable from ancient Roman and Egyptian times that has for as long been regarded as a valuable warming ‘carminative’ (colic and gas reducing) and aromatic digestive; as the English herbalist John Parkinson put it in 1640: “which being sweet and somewhat hot and comforting the stomach, helpeth to digest the crude flegmatick quality of fish and other viscous meats”. It was a common ingredient in ‘gripe water’ and other remedies for infant colic. It was widely used by women to increase breast milk and given also to increase milk flow in livestock.

It has long been used for improving appetite, especially during convalescence, and a respiratory remedy and expectorant for coughs and a range of other respiratory conditions. The seeds were applied in nausea, hiccups, shortness of breath, and wheezing. In China, “barefoot doctors” used very large doses of fennel to treat acute cramping and abdominal pain, and modern research backs this up. Topically, it found use in Europe and Asia for eye complaints, including conjunctivitis, inflamed eyelids, and as a general “cleanser” to improve vision.

Sweet fennel is high in an essential oil component called anethole that brings the characteristic taste to fennel seed. And its these oils along with the flavonids and plant sterols that are so effective for supporting digestion, immunity and reproductive health. Its specific effects on reducing tension and spasms make it a valuable support for digestive, menstrual or nervous cramps.

Harvesting and Preparation

All parts of the fennel plant can be used. Pick the fresh fronds throughout the summer and add to salads, food and for making herbal teas.

As the flowers come into bloom they can be enjoyed as a gardener’s treat nibbling them as you go round the garden. You will have to compete with the bees though as they adore the sweetness of the fennel flowers.

As the flowers turn to seed they can also be enjoyed fresh as a sprinkle on sweet or savoury dishes. A fresh sweet fennel seed is something everyone must try once.

As the summer draws to a close the seeds will have fully ripened. Collect them when they are fully formed and still bright green. Dry them in warm and well ventilated area for around 36-48 hours. Store in an airtight container and use in your cooking.

The seeds make a delicious herbal tea – fresh or dried. Add a teaspoon of the seeds to a cup boiled water and infuse with a covered lid for 10-15 minutes. And the roots can also be simmered into a tea.

Species Info

Soil

Clay, Loamy, Sandy

RHS Pollinators

Best for Bees

Recommended for Beginners

Stratification Needed?

Stratification not required

Herbal Tradition

Ayurvedic, Chinese (TCM), Western

General Uses

Edible, Medicinal

Can be sown direct?

Yes

Herbal Uses

Digestion, Eyes, Hormonal, Nervous system, Reproduction, Urinary, Women

Flower Colour(s)

Yellow

Hardiness

H5 (hardy – cold winter)

UK Native

Yes

Height

150 – 200 cm

Flowering

June, July, August

Life Cycle

Perennial

Water

Moist, Well-drained

Sunlight

Full sun, Part shade

Acidic, Alkaline, Neutral

Recommended Sowing Times

March, April, May

Herbal Teas

Tasty Teas

Make Your Own

Aromatic water, Capsule, Essential oil, Food, Glycerite, Herbal Honey, Herbal pills & lozenges, Herbal Wine, Oxymel, Steam Inhalation, Syrup, Tincture, Vinegar

Description
Additional information

Description