Sentence:  For the first time, <WSD>finocchio</WSD>, or Florence fennel, has performed for me as it should and has swollen out into bulbous protrusions at the base of its leaf stalks. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A fennel cultivar with a bulb-like structure at its base, used as a vegetable; Florence fennel ((noshow=1)).