Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

Where: Waste ground and cultivated land. More common in south, rarer in north.   

What: Leaves, seeds, young shoots/bulbs.

When: Shoots/bulbs – Spring; Leaves – Spring/Summer; Seeds – late Summer/Autumn.

The Wild Fennel is the same plant that is grown commercially, and can be used in all the same situations, only the wild version is much cheaper! It grows in distinct localised patches to a height of 2.5m in some cases, though half that is more normally encountered. It is a very distinctive plant, easily recognised from a distance.

A hard, but hollow, central stem grows a riot of fine, almost hair-like, leaves. The leaves can grow to a length of 40cm and 0.5cm wide, an comprised of very fine thread-like leaflets branching off a stem in opposite pairs, and each leaf is in turn similarly branched giving a rather chaotic and hairy impression to the plant. The leaves themselves are a bright green or greyish green in colour, and when crushed in the hand release an intense aniseed smell; it is this smell, coupled with the characteristic leaves, that means that fennel is almost impossible to mistake for anything else. Harvest large amounts of leaves and dry them to ensure a supply throughout the off-season.

In early spring, just as the plant begins to show itself, the young shoots and the bulb may be harvested and eaten in the manner of the regular Florence Fennel, though the wild version is much smaller, but still good and nutty in flavour. Removing the bulb, of course, robs you of the plant, but there are usually many more around.

The flowers arrive in summer (June onwards) and last until October time; they are tiny (0.3cm) and yellow in colour, forming groups of 30 –50 flowers in dense umbels measuring over 5cm across. 

From August onwards the seed appear below the dead flowers, each measuring 0.7cm long and about 0.2cm wide, dark and light grey coloured with a grooved exterior. These can be collected and stored to add flavouring to dishes.

The aniseed flavour of fennel leaves and seeds can be very strong, and are not to everyone’s liking (I myself am not a big fan), but they make great sauces for fish, and the seeds added to meatballs impart a flavour even I enjoy.