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Dig into Plants: Fennel

Fennel

Other Common Names: Sweet Fennel, Common Fennel, Wild Fennel

Scientific Name: Foeniculum vulgare

Alternate Non-Native Non-invasive Species:
Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

Native to Alabama: No, (non-native, non-invasive)

Wikimedia – Carsten Niehaus

Learn More About...

Basic Plant Information

Wikimedia – Alvesgaspar

  • I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
  • I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous.
  • I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
  • I can grow 4 – 6 feet high and 1.5 – 3 feet wide.

Ecological Benefits

This plant provides food for:

Butterflies

Native Bees

Other Birds

Other Pollinators

Maintenance Notes

  • Remove spent/dead flower stems before seed is produced to avoid unwanted self-seeding.
  • When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots.
  • Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
  • Requires average amount of water.

Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:

Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day)

Average Watering

Well-drained, Clay
Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

Wikimedia – Petruss

LEAF DESCRIPTION

Leaves are finely divided, feathery, yellow-green, aromatic, with needle-like linear segments; foliage is purplish-bronze, fading to dark green with age

Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)

Shape:
Eliptic

Margin:
Entire/Smooth

Arrangement:
Alternate

Form:
Pinnately compound

Wikimedia – Wouter Hagens

FLOWER DESCRIPTION

20-50 small flowers on short pedicels (stalks) in umbrella-like cluster at end of hollow stem.

Flower Shape Chart (JPG)

Color:
Yellow

Shape:
Tubular

Bloom Months:
June – July

Wikimedia – Wouter Hagens

SEED DESCRIPTION

Plant spreads by:
Seeds
Will self-seed and spread if seed heads are not cut after flowering.

Type:
Fruit -
Dry Seed Pod

Description:
aromatic (distinct smell),
small, greenish brown to
yellowish brown, ovals with
5 ridges running lengthwise;
dry but does not split open when ripe

Months in Seed:
Late Summer – Fall

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

  • All plants start life as a seed.
  • The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
  • The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
  • After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
  • After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
  • When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
  • Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

General Plant Life Cycle – Dreamstime

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Ready as-is PDF

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Editable Word Doc

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Editable Word Doc

INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT