Difference between star anise and fennel

1. Differences in plants

Star anise is a tall tree, about 10 to 15 meters in height. The bark of the tree is dark gray and the branches are relatively dense.

Fennel is a herbaceous plant with a height of about 0.4 to 2 meters. The skin is gray-green or pale and has many branches.

2. The difference of flowers

The flowers of star anise are pink to dark red, with pedicels 15 to 40 mm long and 11 to 20 stamens.

The flowers of fennel are yellow in color, obovate or nearly obovate in shape, and have fewer stamens, only five.

3. Differences in Fruits

The fruit of star anise is just as its name suggests, with eight outward corners, octagonal in shape, 14 to 20 mm long, and the fruiting period is from September to October.

The fruit of fennel is oblong in shape, about 4 to 6 mm long and 1.5 to 2.2 mm wide. The fruiting period is from July to October.