fennel
(Foeniculum vulgare P. Mill.)

Overview

Appearance

Foeniculum vulgare is a perennial with soft, feathery, almost hair-like foliage growing up to 6.6 ft. (2 m) tall. This plant can look similar to dill.

Foliage

Stem striate. Leaves 3-4 pinnate; segments filiform, up to 1.6 in. (4 cm) long; leaf bases sheathing. Rays 5-30, 0.39-2.4 in. (1-6 cm) long.

Flowers

Flowers are small, yellow, and found in large flat-topped umbels. Blooming occurs between August and October.

Fruit

Fruit oblong to ovoid, 0.12-0.2 in. (3-5 mm) long. Seeds ripen from September to October. This plant can reproduce from crown or root fragments but freely reproduces from seed.

Ecological Threat

Foeniculum vulgare requires well-drained soil and cannot grow in the shade. It prefers disturbed areas and is native to Europe.

Resources

• Element Stewardship Abstract - The Nature Conservancy

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• California Invasive Plant Council
• Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
• Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
• John Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Survey of TNC Preserves, 1995.
• National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
• Native Plant Society of Oregon, 2008
• New Invaders of the Southwest
• Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems
• Pacific Northwest Exotic Pest Plant Council, 1998
• Washington Noxious Weeds
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
• West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999

References