Fennel is a perennial plant from the umbellifer family, which also includes other well-known plants such as carrot, parsley and celery. Wild fennel is the original form of fennel and originates from the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, where it was used as a seasoning and medicinal plant in ancient times.

Fennel was voted Medicinal Plant of the Year in 2009. This is not surprising when you consider that it was recommended by Hippocrates, one of the most famous figures in the history of medicine. There are three varieties of fennel: wild fennel, the spice fennel and the vegetable fennel, often referred to as fennel bulb. Wild fennel, also known as bitter fennel, is a wild form of fennel that was used as a medicinal plant by the Romans in ancient times. Its essential oil contains significantly more of the bitter-tasting substance fenchone – hence the name bitter fennel. The seeds can be used as a spice or in tea. Wild fennel does not form a large bulb, but has a very slender growth.  Fennel cultivated as a vegetable has a thickened bulb, which is why it is sometimes known as bulb funnel. This term has become established colloquially, although it is not entirely correct from a botanical point of view, as the vegetable fennel does not actually have a bulb, but a bulb-shaped onion that grows above ground. We grow the vegetable fennel.

The bulb of vegetable fennel is white to light green and has a layered structure like an onion. At the top, the bulb leads into bright green stems, which have dill-like fennel green fronds. Fennel has an extraordinary, aromatic and aniseed-like aroma, both raw and cooked.