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Introduction

One charming plant in this area which has the agreeable habit of growing at the sides of fields, roads and walls, often in very small spaces, is fennel, a species you have probably often seen.

It is a plant which is highly resistant to drought and so it grows in very dry places. When it flowers, from summer well into autumn, it produces striking bright yellow umbels. Sometimes, large expanses of it can grow, like the one on the boundary you are following on the left of the trail.

It is widely used as a condiment in Mediterranean cuisine, either its leaves, its seeds or its buried bulbs from which the aerial part of the plant grows, for its flavour which is similar to aniseed. If you break off a twig and put it in your mouth and suck it, you will taste its aniseed flavour.

In the past, farmers used to encourage this species to grow at the edges of their fields, as it was used in their homes and they could even make some extra money by selling it at the market.

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