Re-evaluation and typification of Foeniculum piperitum (Apiaceae), an underknown medicinal plant and crop wild relative

Abstract

Foeniculum piperitum was described as Anethum piperitum based on plants collected in Sicily, Italy. Currently it is treated either as a synonym of Foeniculum vulgare, or as one of two subspecies within that taxon. Here we show that F. vulgare and F. piperitum are two different, sometimes co-occurring, taxa and that given clear morphological and ecological separation, they should be treated as distinct species. Anethum piperitum is typified. Owing to misapplication of names and wrong synonymizations, the ecology and chorology of F. vulgare and F. piperitum have to be better defined.

Chemical Variability of the Essential Oils from Two Portuguese Apiaceae: Coriandrum sativum L. and Foeniculum vulgare Mill.

“…The genus shows a high level of morphological variability, and other sources may consider various taxonomic classifications [ 33 , 34 ], but there seems to be consensus on the terminology of bitter fennel and sweet fennel. European Pharmacopoeia 10 [ 30 ] as well as Portuguese Pharmacopeia IX [ 31 ] assign three monographs to this genus, two to the fruit and another to the EO.…”

New Data on Native and Alien Vascular Flora of Sicily (Italy): New Findings and Updates

“…After the latest checklists of the Sicilian [1,2] and Italian native and alien vascular flora [3][4][5], several new contributions have been published for Sicilian flora. Some of these refer to newly described endemic species [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], while others confirm or record for the first time species native to the island [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. However, the large majority of these contributions consist of reports of exotic species .…”