Fennel The inflated leaf bases are eaten as a vegetable, both raw and cooked. Several cultivars of Florence fennel are also known by several other names, notably the Italian name "finocchio". In North American supermarkets, it is often mislabeled as "anise". "Foeniculum vulgare" 'Purpureum' or 'Nigra', "bronze-leaved" fennel, is widely available as a decorative garden plant. Fennel has become naturalized along roadsides, in pastures, and in other open sites in many regions, including northern Europe, the United States, southern Canada, and much of Asia and Australia. It propagates well by seed, and is considered an invasive species and a weed in
HMCS Fennel May 1941. Joining Newfoundland Command in June, "Fennel" was assigned to escort group 22N until September 1941 and then group N11 from December 1941 until March 1942 as an ocean escort. Beginning in April 1942 she had a brief spell as a member of Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) escort group C-1 before transferring to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) in June of that year. She remained a part of WLEF until June 1943. In June 1943, "Fennel" joined MOEF group C-2 for one escort assignment before heading off for a refit. Upon completion of workups, she returned to C-2.