Ever seen giant fennel in bloom? I certainly may have, but never in the quantities I've seen this Passover, causing me to take note and photograph this beauty! Because Passover occurs at a slightly different time each year, and this is leap year, meaning we added an extra month to our calendar, the flowering species that I'm seeing this year on our Passover outings are different than what I may have seen last year, and friends, it is so wonderful and so inspiring! This year Passover has occurred exactly at the time of blooming yellow everywhere, whether it be this giant common fennel, wild mustard, broom bushes and more! I'll of course be sharing with you photos of it all, not to worry! Right now it is time to give some attention to the giant fennel, which one really can't help but notice as it is quite tall and calls out to those who are fortunate enough to notice such things! I took these photographs in the Birya Forest, not far from Tsfat, and just above the gravesite of Rebbi Yonaton Ben Ouziel, but more on that later, first hello giant fennel!
Ferula communis, giant fennel, is a species of flowering plant actually in the carrot family Apiaceae, andrelated to common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), which belongs to the same family. Ferula communis is a tall herbaceous plant, and it is found in Mediterranean and East African woodlands and shrublands. In Israel it is found in the Golan, Galilee, Upper Jordan Valley, norther valleys, Gilboa, Samarian Desert, Judean Desert, Dead Sea Valley, Sharon, Shefela, Northern Negev and Jordan Valley. Meaning basically, interestingly enough in the North and in the southern desert region, which are totally different weather wise!
Interestingly enough, the young stems are eaten even today in Morocco (causing husband to take a closer look at the plant once I told him this...) thought culinary use of this species is not always safe, so please don't consider it!
Some other interesting facts courtesy of Wikipedia:
- The resin of the subspecies F. communis subsp. brevifolia is called “gum ammoniac of Morocco”
- The phenolic compound ferulic acid is named for the giant fennel, from which it can be isolated.
- Since antiquity, the resin of Ferula species has been used for medicinal purposes. The resin, in the form of a sticky latex, was usually extracted from the lower stalk or root, with the root resin being the finest-grade.
- In the past, rods and whips for disciplinary purposes were made from the stalk of Ferula. From this, we have latin ferire (to hit), and also the Swedish färla (disciplinary tool used in schools in the past).
As you can see, the plants don't grow densely, but rather scattered.
As you can well guess, I'm just so very anxious to try drawing and painting this species, as it has so many wonderful qualities. Imagine tiny dots for all those flowers! We do not draw or paint during the chol hamoed (middle days) of the holiday, but just as soon as all the Passover kitchen is packed up, watch out!
Truly lovely and feel so fortunate to have noticed this wonderful native!
