finnochio

Finnochio or Sweet fennel (Fœniculum dulce of Bauhin) is a biennial plant, a native of Italy and Portugal. It differs from common fennel in its dwarfer stature, darker hue, and shorter duration.

1845, Edward Smedley, Hugh James Rose, Henry John Rose [eds.], Encyclopædia Metropolitana, volume 6, page 103

Finnochio is sometimes grown in this country. Its seed or fruit, and the essential oil distilled from it, find a place in our pharmacopœias, but are rarely used. Their warm stimulant properties lead to their employment in the flatulent colic of infants.

1857, Proceedings of the Literary & Philosophical Society of Liverpool, During the Forty-Sixth Session, 1856–57 (Henry Greenwood), № 11, page 95

Francati had filled the cask with fresh water; he had also laid in a supply of finnochio and eggs, so that the dinner we had, after leaving Pæstum, was quite a swell affair.

1892, Lee Meriwether, Afloat and Ashore on the Mediterranean, C. Scribner’s Sons, page 255

We are sure that, when Finnochio is better known in northern countries, it will be as much appreciated as Celery.

1893, Gardeners Chronicle & New Horticulturist (Haymarket Publishing), page 366