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
HMCS Fennel Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants. "Fennel" was ordered by the Royal Navy on 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down 29 March 1940 by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel, Quebec and launched 20 August later that year. "Fennel" was towed to Liverpool, Nova Scotia and was