Fennel (whole), 1 kg

Fennel – a perennial herbaceous plant of the Apiaceae family, reaching 90-200 cm in height. In appearance, it resembles dill, but in taste and aroma it is closer to anise, though with a sweeter and more pleasant taste.

Fennel comes in common and vegetable varieties, the latter having a fleshy stem. Careful identification is crucial: it can be confused with other, poisonous umbellifers! The fennel root is spindle-shaped, fleshy, and wrinkled.

The stem has a bluish bloom, is straight, and branched. The leaves are thrice- or four-times-pinnate, with long, thread-like segments. Small yellow flowers are arranged at the tops of the stems in flat, compound umbels. The fennel fruit is an oblong, two-seeded schizocarp, sweet to the taste.

Fennel blooms in July-August and bears fruit in September. Fennel is cultivated as a medicinal plant.

Common fennel is among the oldest medicinal remedies. It was widely used by Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Pliny, and Avicenna.