wild fennel
Feral anise plant
Wild fennel is the uncultivated form of the fennel plant, growing freely in fields, roadsides, and disturbed ground rather than being farmed.
Unlike cultivated fennel, it lacks the swollen bulb base but produces abundant feathery fronds and yellow flowers.
The seeds, pollen, and fronds are prized in cooking for their intense anise flavor: I foraged some wild fennel for the pasta.
Common in Mediterranean climates and naturalized in California, where it's considered invasive.
- aniseLicorice-flavored seed plant
- frondsDivided leaf blades
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- umbelsRadiating floral inflorescences
- hillsideSloping terrain face
pollen · licorice · Mediterranean · roadsides · herb · seeds · feathery · aromatic · sausage · ditch · California · golden · dry · stalks · infusion · natural remedy · bees · meadow
- foraged foodsdandelion, blackberries, blueberries, nuts, mushrooms
- Wild Foodsramps, fiddleheads, dandelion greens, morels, chanterelles
- wild herbsnettle, dandelion, chickweed, plantain, sorrel
- herb gardeningbasil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme
- foraged greensdandelion greens, lamb's quarters, purslane, chickweed, nettle
- Calabriapeperoncino, bergamot, Paola