Fennel By A B Mauri India Pvt. Ltd.

Fennel is a hardy, perennial,umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is generally considered indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean, but has become widely naturalised elsewhere and may now be found growing wild in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on river-banks.

Fennel is a perennial herb. It is erect, glaucous green, and grows to heights of up to 2.5 m, with hollow stems. The leaves grow up to 40 cm long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments are threadlike, about 0.5 mm wide. The fruit is a dried seed from 4a 10 mm long, half as wide or less, and grooved.

Fennel is widely cultivated, both in its native range and elsewhere, for its edible, strongly-flavoured leaves and fruits, which are often mistermed "seeds". Its aniseed flavour comes from anethole, an aromatic compound also found in anise and star anise, and its taste and aroma are similar to theirs, though usually not as strong.

Fennel contains anethole, which can explain some of its medical effects: it, or its polymers, act as phytoestrogens. On account of its carminative properties, fennel is chiefly used medicinally with purgatives to allay their side effects, and for this purpose forms one of the ingredients of the well-known compound liquorice powder.