Yellow Anise
Photo by Matt Whitaker
Scientific Description: Yellow Anise – Illicium parviflorum – is a member of the Schisandraceae and is a large, dense, evergreen shrub native to Florida and the lower southeastern United States, but it does well in Hardiness Zones 6b through 9. It matures to 10 to 15 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet in diameter. It prefers dappled sunlight to partial sunlight and can grow in loam, sandy, and clayey soils. It needs relatively little maintenance and is moderately drought tolerate but prefers moist, well-drained soils.
The inconspicuous yellow flower (~ 0.5 inch) is produced in the spring and then leads to the star-shaped, green seed head. This, also, is rather inconspicuous. Most parts of this plant emit a robust anise-flavored scent with hints of root beer when crushed. This plant is poisonous if ingested and cannot be substituted for the related spice Star Anise.
Yellow anise will sucker to form colonies when happy and/or allowed to do so.
This plant has no significant insect or disease issues and requires lower pH soils.
Habitat Value: Because Yellow Anise is toxic, most wildlife will not browse it, making it extremely deer and rabbit resistant. It is insect-pollinated and provides shelter for birds and other wildlife.
Landscape Value: By Matt Whitaker of WMWA Landscape Architects
Illicium parviflorum is an underused coastal plain native evergreen that is a vigorous grower, is also easy to grow, and the most cold hardy of the genus. Its leaves and size are similar to Rhododendron, but it is much less finicky and less toxic than Rhododendrons. While it can grow in full sun, it seldom looks terribly happy about it. All this puts yellow anise, or small anise tree, in a class of its own: native, evergreen, fast grower, easy to grow, does well in shade. I’m not sure there are any other shrubs I can put in this group. Its cousin, Illicium floridanum, is similar, but it is less cold hardy.
Illicium parviflorum makes a great screen, massing, or specimen shrub. With a little pruning, specimens make a nice small tree form. It takes pruning well and can be easily shaped, but its larger leaves do not look good when sheared. Few plants do look good when sheared, but that does not seem to deter most landscape maintenance crews, who will shear anything they can get their hands on, but I digress.
Small anise tree will tolerate extremely moist soils and does do okay in full sun when this kind of moisture is present. The light, olive green foliage is less common in the landscape and makes a nice contrast to most other evergreens. Two cultivars have become common in the trade: Florida Sunshine, which is a yellow leaf selection, and BananAppeal, which is dwarfed and also yellow leaved. I have little use for variegated/non-green leaved plants in the landscape because I find the unnatural, otherworldly look unsettling.
