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Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
33.4207, -117.621
Field Notes
Description:
A biennial or perennial, fennel sends up four or five smooth stalks, hollow but containing a white pith, and bearing feathery, finely divided linear foliage on clasping leafstalks; blooming in large, flat umbels of golden yellow flowers in late summer, which ripen to gray-brown seed. Plants can reach just under 6 feet in height.
These plants were planted to attract swallowtail butterflies.
Habitat:
Casa Romantica grounds.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens was built by city father Ole Hanson as his family home in 1927.
The grounds feature succulent gardens, original tile walkways, a small amphitheater, all kinds of nooks and crannies, and sweeping ocean views.
Notes:
As a larval plant for the swallowtail butterfly, fennel can be grown in butterfly gardens. Swallowtail caterpil- lars will feed on the leaves without overtaking and destroying the plant. Fennel can also be planted in peren- nial or herb borders.
All of the aerial portions of fennel are edible, including the flowers. Fennel seeds are baked into breads, bis- cuits, stuffings and Italian sausages, and added to sweet pickles and sauerkraut. Seeds compliment aspara- gus, tomato and cucumber. Stems can be grilled with fish, meats and vegetables, and leaves can be added to salads, olives, fish, snails or used as a garnish. Bronze fennel, the culitivar 'Rubrum,' makes an especially attractive garnish. The large leafstalk bases of F. vulgare subsp. vulgare var. azoricum are eaten as a vegetable, raw or cooked. Tea can be made from fennel seeds and leaves.
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