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 Click on image to enlarge it

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Basic Plant Information
	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.
Wikimedia Alvesgaspar Click on image to enlarge it

 




















 

 

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Ecological Benefits

This plant provides food for:
Butterflies	Native Bees	Caterpillars	Other Pollinators
		Black Swallowtail

 

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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.

 

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Habitat Requirements
This plant prefers:
Full Sun (6+ hours of sun per day)		Average Watering	Well-drained, Clay  Soil

 

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Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
LEAF DESCRIPTION				Wikimedia Petruss Click on image to enlarge it
Leaf Characteristics Chart (JPG)
Shape: Linear	Margin: Entire/Smooth	Arrangement: Alternate	Form:  Pinnately compound
Description:
Leaves are finely divided, feathery, yellow-green, aromatic, with needle-like linear segments; foliage is purplish-bronze, fading to dark green with age

      
   

FLOWER DESCRIPTION				Wikimedia Wouter Hagens Click on image to enlarge it
Flower Shapes Chart (JPG)
Color: Yellow	Shape:    Tubular		Bloom Months: June - July
Description:
20-50 small flowers on short pedicels (stalks) in umbrella-like cluster at end of hollow stem

   



  

SEED DESCRIPTION			Wikimedia Wouter Hagens Click on image to enlarge it
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 spreads by:
Seeds Will self-seed and spread if seed heads are not cut after flowering.

 

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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 Click on image to enlarge it

 

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

 

Quick Fact Sheet (Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign: Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign: Editable Word Doc

QR Code (Links to this Webpage)

 

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INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT

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Encyclopaedia Britannica		University of Wisconsin-Madison Master Gardener Program
Invasive Plant Atlas		Native Plant Trust Go Botany
Missouri Botanical Garden		North Carolina State JC Raulston Arboretum

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