Yes, there is leaf fennel like Bronze Fennel and bulb fennel like Florence Fennel. I grow some Florence Fennel, which is sweeter and more popular for culinary use. The flavor is more like Anise. I have been familiar with it since I was a kid, when I only knew it by its Italian name "finocchio" since my Italian grandparents grew some in their garden every year.
The whole plant is edible, including the tasty seeds which are a great spice, I like to add some seeds in Italian meatballs like my mother and grandmother did. Great stuff! The fresh feathery leaves are used as a herb or an addition to salads. The bulb (not really a true bulb, but the mass where all the stalks meet), grows above ground is used as a vegetable.
If you grow it for seed, just one plant will make a lot of seed, just collect the big dill-like seed heads when they are dry and brown. Fennel will self seed, so don't be surprised if you get a few volunteers pop up in the garden in the late spring.
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