Mock bishop's weed is a native plant here that looks very much like fennel and dill, and it's in the same family. Black swallowtails will lay eggs on it as readily as they do fennel and dill, and, like these two, it takes a lot of it to feed a group of caterpillars. The cats will make blacker poop when eating it, so it's not exactly the same by any means.

It came up in my garden on its on several years ago, so I left it and got cats. Last year I gathered the seeds and spread them over shady parts of my garden, because it will deteriorate in hot sun. Still, it's MUCH more heat tolerant than fennel and dill. This spring, it's coming up in the places where I sowed the seeds! It's the type of plant that can grow easily between bigger plants, so I plan on continuing to sow the seeds, the only limitation being that the caterpillars eat them. The seeds I got came from some regrowth made after the cats had become chrysalides. I highly recommend using it if you're in the hot, humid Deep South - my fennel and dill die in the summer and never return the next spring.

The only problem is getting seeds. I'd recommend scouring roadsides looking for plants that look like dill and fennel. Just don't get water hemlock! :)

Sherry

Oh, well I don't think I've seen any of those around here anywhere, at least not on roadsides. I guess they don't sell them anywhere. :)