Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare Mill.
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is an aromatic Apiaceae herb; its young leaves, seeds and bulb serve as a spice and carminative, expectorant and galactagogue remedy, its anethole-rich oil giving the anise aroma.
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Fennel — Florence fennel bulbFennel — whole plant
Fennel — leaves
Fennel — stem and sheathing leaf bases
Fennel — flowers (compound umbel)
Fennel — fruits (schizocarp)Fennel — Florence fennel bulbFennel — whole plantOverview
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), also called common fennel, is a strongly aromatic perennial herb of the carrot family (Apiaceae), genus Foeniculum, growing 0.5–2.5 m tall. The stems are erect, smooth, ridged, glaucous green and branch near the top. The alternate leaves are 3–4 times pinnately divided into thread-like, feathery ultimate segments up to 50 cm long, with sheathing leaf bases clasping the stem. The small bright-yellow flowers are borne in large compound umbels 5–15 cm across made of many umbellules, each flower with five petals and five stamens. The fruit is an ovoid-cylindrical schizocarp 4–10 mm long, ribbed and greenish-brown at maturity, splitting into two one-seeded mericarps — the spice known as fennel seed. The cultivated Florence fennel (var. dulce/azoricum) develops a swollen, edible leaf-base bulb.
Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/12/2026
Fennel is native to the Mediterranean shores (southern Europe, North Africa, western Asia) and has spread and naturalised across Europe, Asia (including China, India and Vietnam), the Americas and Australasia; it prefers dry, open, sandy soils and often grows by the sea, along rivers, on waste ground and cultivated land. It is grown for its leaves, seeds and bulb. The whole plant contains an essential oil rich in trans-anethole (up to 60–80%), giving the characteristic anise aroma, together with fenchone, estragole (methyl chavicol) and limonene; the fruits also contain flavonoids, phenolic compounds, fixed oil, protein and fibre. The oil and seeds are carminative, antispasmodic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, galactagogue and expectorant. In Chinese medicine the fruit (小茴香, xiǎo huí xiāng) is pungent and warm, entering the liver, kidney, spleen and stomach meridians: it disperses cold, moves qi, harmonises the stomach and relieves pain, treating cold abdominal pain, borborygmus, bloating, vomiting and dysmenorrhoea, at 3–6 g daily. Caution: the concentrated oil contains estragole; avoid high doses or prolonged use, and limit use in pregnancy and young children.
Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/12/2026
Life cycle
From seed to productPlant
Aromatic perennial herb 0.5–2.5 m tall with ridged glaucous stems and feathery pinnate leaves, growing in clumps.
Flower
Small bright-yellow flowers in large compound umbels; flowering mainly June–September (in Europe); each flower with five petals and five stamens.
Fruit (seed)
The anise-scented schizocarp 4–10 mm long, ripening and harvested in late summer–autumn; the spice and drug known as fennel seed.
Bulb (Florence fennel)
Florence cultivars (var. azoricum) develop swollen leaf bases forming a crisp, sweet bulb, harvested when full and firm.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- Mediterranean (native: southern Europe, North Africa, western Asia)35%
- Europe & western Asia (naturalised)25%
- China & India20%
- The Americas (North & South)12%
- Australasia & elsewhere8%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- trans-AnetholeCharacteristic anise aroma, carminative, antibacterial40%
- FenchoneMild camphor note, expectorant15%
- Estragole (methyl chavicol)Aromatic; caution at high doses12%
- Limonene & other oil terpenesMild aroma, aids digestion10%
- Flavonoids & phenolic compoundsAntioxidant, anti-inflammatory13%
- Fixed oil, protein & fibre (seed)Nutritional, mildly laxative10%
Uses
- Spice & vegetable: young leaves and seeds (fennel seed) flavour meat, fish, pickles, bread and sweets; the Florence fennel bulb is eaten raw, roasted or braised.
- Digestive: carminative and antispasmodic for bloating, borborygmus and vomiting in adults and children; fennel-seed water eases colic.
- Expectorant & respiratory: used for cough, sore throat and chest congestion thanks to the expectorant, antibacterial oil.
- Galactagogue & gynaecological: traditionally the seeds stimulate milk flow; also used for cold-type dysmenorrhoea.
- Chinese medicine (小茴香): disperses cold, moves qi, harmonises the stomach and relieves pain; for cold abdominal pain, hernia and cold-type dysuria; also for backache and distension.
Properties
- Form
- Aromatic perennial herb 0.5–2.5 m tall with ridged stems
- Hallmark
- Feathery pinnate leaves; yellow compound umbels; anise-scented schizocarp
- Pharmacology
- Carminative, antispasmodic, galactagogue, expectorant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory
- Safety
- Pungent and warm; dose 3–6 g daily; concentrated oil contains estragole — caution in pregnancy and young children
Habitat & conservation
Fennel grows in dry, open, sunny, well-drained sandy soils, often on sea shores, river banks, waste ground, roadsides and cultivated land. It is fairly drought-tolerant, native to the Mediterranean climate and naturalised in many temperate and subtropical regions.
Conservation
Fennel is very widespread and cultivated worldwide; it has not been assessed by the IUCN and is therefore listed as Not Evaluated (NE). Family Apiaceae, genus Foeniculum. Value: vegetable, spice (fennel seed, Florence fennel bulb) and medicine.
References
- 1POWO — Foeniculum vulgare Mill. — Plants of the World Online (Kew), 2026
- 2GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Foeniculum vulgare Mill. — GBIF, 2026
- 3Wikipedia EN — Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) — Wikipedia EN, 2026
- 4Wikipedia VI — Tiểu hồi hương — Wikipedia VI, 2026
- 5Wikipedia ZH — 茴香 — Wikipedia ZH, 2026
- 6Ảnh: Javier martin (Public domain); Petruss (CC BY-SA 3.0); SAplants (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons, 2026
- 7Ảnh: Stefan.lefnaer (CC BY-SA 4.0); Schlaghecken Josef (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons, 2026