Fennel when fresh, slowly turning a dull grey as the seed ages. For cooking, green seeds are optimal. The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to those of dill. The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw. Young tender leaves are used for garnishes, as a salad, to add flavor to salads, to flavor sauces to be served with puddings, and also in soups and fish sauce. Fennel seeds are sometimes confused with those of anise, which are similar in taste and appearance, though smaller. Fennel is also used as a
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