Anise

Name: Florida Anise
Plant Type: shrub
Height: 10-15’
Width: 8-10’
Light: full to light shade
Salt: poor
Deer: do not usually eat
Zone: 7-10
Notes: This rapidly growing, large, evergreen, Florida native shrub has medium- to coarse-textured, olive green, leathery leaves, and small, yellow flowers. The many, slender, drooping branches of anise give a rounded, open canopy in the shade that is ideal for natural settings, or it can be pruned into dense hedges, screens, or windbreaks in sunny locations. Branches often root when they touch the ground and root sprouts appear several years after planting. This adds to the density of the shrub. The slightly fragrant spring flowers are followed by brown, star-shaped, many-seeded pods that cling to the stems. The leaves of anise give off a distinctive fragrance of licorice when bruised or crushed. Moderate growth rate. Soil tolerances: acidic; slightly alkaline; sand; loam; clay.