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Foeniculum vulgare

Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
Foeniculum July 2011-1a.jpg
Fennel in flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
Genus: Foeniculum
Species: F. vulgare
Binomial name
Foeniculum vulgare
Mill.
Synonyms
Fennel seeds
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 1,443 kJ (345 kcal)
52 g
Dietary fiber 40 g
14.9 g
Saturated 0.5 g
Monounsaturated 9.9 g
Polyunsaturated 1.7 g
15.8 g
Vitamins
Thiamine (B1)
(36%)
0.41 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
(29%)
0.35 mg
Niacin (B3)
(41%)
6.1 mg
Vitamin B6
(36%)
0.47 mg
Vitamin C
(25%)
21 mg
Minerals
Calcium
(120%)
1196 mg
Iron
(142%)
18.5 mg
Magnesium
(108%)
385 mg
Manganese
(310%)
6.5 mg
Phosphorus
(70%)
487 mg
Potassium
(36%)
1694 mg
Sodium
(6%)
88 mg
Zinc
(42%)
4 mg

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on riverbanks.

It is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal uses and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Florence fennel or finocchio is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base that is used as a vegetable.

Fennel is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including in its native range the mouse moth and the Old-World swallowtail. Where it has been introduced in north America it may be used by the anise swallowtail.

The word "fennel" developed from the Middle English fenel or fenyl. This came from the Old English fenol or finol, which in turn came from the Latin feniculum or foeniculum, the diminutive of fenum or faenum, meaning "hay". The Latin word for the plant was ferula, which is now used as the genus name of a related plant.

The Greek name for fennel is marathon (μάραθον) or marathos (μάραθος), and the place of the famous battle of Marathon (whence marathon, the subsequent sports event), literally means a plain with fennel. The word is first attested in Mycenaean Linear B form as ma-ra-tu-wo.


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