Fennel

The herb fennel is not to be confused with the plant Florence fennel. Fennel is both a herb and a spice. All of the plant parts are edible: roots, stalks and leaves, with the spice coming from the dried seeds. Originally a native to the Mediterranean, Fennel is an ancient and common plant known to the ancient Greeks and spread throughout Europe by Imperial Rome. Also grown in India, the Orient, Australia, South America and has become naturalized in the US. Called the “meeting’ seed” by the Puritans who would chew it during their long church services. The name derives from the Latin foeniculum, meaning “little hay”.