Fennel Fennel Fennel ("Foeniculum vulgare") is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on riverbanks. It is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb used in cookery and, along with the similar-tasting anise, 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
Fennel of Life" repeatedly refers to the plant and mentions its purported ability to strengthen eyesight: Fennel, "Foeniculum vulgare", is a perennial herb. It is erect, glaucous green, and grows to heights of up to , with hollow stems. The leaves grow up to long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about wide. (Its leaves are similar to those of dill, but thinner.) The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels wide, each umbel section having 20–50 tiny yellow flowers on short pedicels. The fruit is a dry seed from long, half as wide or less, and