Florence fennel
Foeniculum vulgare Azoricum Group · Carrot family
Plant portrait
Florence fennel combines fine feathery foliage with swollen leaf bases.
Harvested part
The swelling formed by the leaf bases.
What to watch for
Watch the swelling above soil level; this so-called bulb is not a root.
Growth stages of the Florence fennel
Plotilo illustrates the Florence fennel in 5 stages in 3D: seed, small sprout, young plant, growing and harvest. The models show typical shapes; they do not predict how long growth takes.
- Seed
Starting from a seed. It is shown on the surface to make it visible in this illustration.
- Small sprout
A short first stem and its first small leaves emerge.
- Young plant
The young plant carries more leaves and starts to take its own shape.
- Growing
Leaves and stems develop. Their shape depends on the species.
- Harvest
An illustration of the harvested part. Roots are made visible for clarity; this image does not confirm actual maturity.
Same botanical family
Same botanical family as the Florence fennel (the carrot family): the carrot, the parsnip, the celery, the tuberous chervil and the Hamburg parsley. Gardeners usually avoid growing the same family in the same spot several years in a row: that is the idea behind crop rotation.