Dog fennel

Hi,
I just realize that I have 2 dog fennel plants grow in my small vegetable plot in my backyard. I google and it said that dog fennel is weed and it is poison, will cause liver problem. My question here is , would my other vegetables plant inherit this dog fennel poison as I am consuming (eating) these vegetables. What should I do now..it is a pretty weed plant.? Your comments and recommendation is appreciated. Thank you.

Hello Mag,

I'm fairly certain the dog fennel will -not- make your vegetables poisonous. I don't know of a single plant that makes other plants around it poisonous, except for maybe manchineel tree.

Dog fennel is certainly pretty, but it does get pretty large - taller than a man. Once established, it is very difficult to remove as it has a large and robust root system. Just something to take into consideration.

Happy gardening.

Hi Dylan,
I have removed them and transferred them to my front yard next to the mailbox..it is pretty...Btw it was once from a cilantro plant...and all this while, I thought it must be a cilantro plant, and I pinched a stalk and showed my girlfriend, she told me it surely not cilantro. Hence I google and found the dog fennel looks similar to this plant. This late morning when I removed both the dog fennel plants, there is a cilantro plant near to one of them (dog fennel) and I looked at it closely..there is a portion of the leaf shape looks like the dog fennel when it was pretty young back then...I would like to enclose a picture of the cilantro plant for your reference. Hence, I am still not sure the plant I have removed is a dog fennel or not ! Would appreciate your comments. Thank you!

Cheers, Mag

I'm certain that the tall plants with the feathery foliage, that were in the first picture you posted, are dog fennel. It's a fairly common plant in my region - I often see it growing around logging and construction sites where the soil has been disturbed or eroded.

It does resemble cilantro, especially when cilantro begins to bolt (flower) and it's foliage becomes more feathery. In comparison to cilantro, dog fennel has very short petioles, with it's leaves growing almost right against the stalk. Cilantro grows from a rosette, that is low to the ground, until it bolts and forms a single stalk that can reach about the height of your hip. Dog fennel is a significantly larger plant in comparison. The picture of the cilantro that you posted didn't appear to be bolting anytime soon.

As they are both aromatic plants, the easiest way to be sure is to do a smell test on the plant suspected to be dog fennel. Crush a bit of the foliage in your hand; if it has an unusual smell then it is undoubtedly dog fennel. I suppose the aroma is vaguely similar to a wet dog, hence the name.

I wish I knew of some good uses for dog fennel beyond its ornamental quality. Perhaps someone else here has some ideas?

Hi Dylan,
Thank you so much for your explanations. I have no knowledge about planting, still in the process of learning ( trial and error) stage.
Have a wonderful day.
Cheers!

Sheep will eat dog fennel although it isn't one of their favorite plants. You don't see dog fennel in a sheep pasture, but cattle won't touch it.