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{{SPlantbox
{{SPlantbox
|familia=Apiaceae
|familia=Apiaceae
|genus=Foeniculum
|genus=Foeniculum
|species=vulgare
|species=vulgare
|common_name=Fennel
|common_name=Fennel
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|max_zone=10
|max_zone=10
|image=Upload.png
|image=Foeniculum vulgare.JPG
|image_width=240
|image_width=240
|image_caption=Fennel in flower
}}
}}
'''Fennel''' (''Foeniculum vulgare''), is a [[plant]] [[species]] in the [[genus]] ''[[Foeniculum]]'' (treated as the sole species in the genus by most [[botany|botanists]]). It is a member of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Apiaceae]] (formerly the Umbelliferae). It is a hardy, [[perennial plant|perennial]], [[umbelliferous]] herb, with yellow [[flower]]s and feathery [[leaf|leaves]]. It is generally considered indigenous to the shores of the [[Mediterranean]], but has become widely naturalised elsewhere (particularly, it seems, areas colonized by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]]<ref>[http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/f/fennel01.html botanical.com - A Modern Herbal | Fennel<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>) and may now be found growing wild in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on river-banks.
It is a highly [[smell|aromatic]] and [[taste|flavorful]] [[herb]] with [[cookery|culinary]] and [[medicine|medicinal]] uses, and is one of the primary ingredients of [[absinthe]]. '''Florence fennel''' or '''finocchio''' is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base that is used as a vegetable.
Fennel is a [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[herb]]. It is erect, glaucous green, and grows to heights of up to 2.5 m, with hollow stems. The [[leaf|leaves]] grow up to 40 cm long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about 0.5 mm wide. (Its leaves are similar to those of [[dill]], but thinner.) The [[flower]]s are produced in terminal compound [[umbel]]s 5–15 cm wide, each umbel section having 20–50 tiny yellow flowers on short pedicels. The [[fruit]] is a dry [[seed]] from 4–10 mm 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>
Fennel is widely cultivated, both in its native range and elsewhere, for its edible, strongly-flavoured leaves and fruits, which are often mistermed "seeds".<ref name=katzer>Katzer's Spice Pages: [http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Foen_vul.html?noframes Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'' Mill.)]</ref>
Fennel has become [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] along roadsides, in pastures, and in other open sites in many regions, including northern Europe, the [[United States]], southern [[Canada]] and in much of [[Asia]] and [[Australia]]. It propagates well by seed, and is considered an [[invasive species]] and a [[weed]] in Australia and the United States<ref>[http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/tcweeds/weeds/fennel.htm Common Fennel<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> (see [[Santa Cruz Island]]).
==Cultivation==
==Cultivation==
==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery perrow=5>
<gallery perrow=5>
Image:Upload.png| photo 1
Image:Fennel flower heads.jpg| Fennel flowerheads
File:Fenouil.jpg| Florence fennel bulbs
File:Koeh-148.jpg| photo 3
</gallery>
</gallery>