Botany and chemistry of Foeniculum vulgare var. Dulce mill. and Foeniculum vulgare var. Vulgare mill: A review

The Apiaceae family (Umbelliferae) comprises both vegetable and aromatic and medicinal species. Among the most used aromatic species from this family is Foeniculum vulgare Mill, which can be cultivated in various climatic conditions. Foeniculum vulgare ssp. vulgare Mill. can be cultivated using three varieties: Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum Mill., also called bulbing fennel or Florence fennel, Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce Mill. with the common name of sweet fennel and Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare Mill., this variety is known as bitter fennel due to the bitter aroma of the seeds.In this review were presented the results of various publications, reported between 1961 and 2019, on two varieties of fennel, var. dulce and var. vulgare. The publications were selected from the electronic library.Therefor in this article, various botany and chemistry differences between sweet fennel and bitter fennel have been presented

Plant density and foliar fertilization effects on essential oil content of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare mill.)

Aromatic and medicinal plant species can be defined as boundless sources of raw materials which can be used as well in food and pharmaceutical industry. Essential oils extracted from different parts of the aromatic plant species are of increasing interest in cosmetic industry. Some chemical compounds from volatile oils are preferred over the synthetic ones, as natural extracts involve less risk factors as far as consumer`s health goes. The aim of this research was to determine the main effects of plant density and foliar fertilization on essential oil yield of two varieties of fennel Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare and Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce. The experiment was carried out using randomized block design with three replications. The distances between rows were 50 cm, 75 cm and 100 cm. The plant spaces on the row was 30 cm in all treatments. In case of each plant density, three foliar fertilizers were applied, with different composition, in terms of macronutrients, micronutrients and amino acids. The results showed that both factors, plant density and foliar application of fertilizers had significant impact on the essential oil content of both sweet fennel and bitter fennel