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Anise

Pimpinella anisum (pim-pin-EL-ah AN-iss-um)

Family: Apiaceae Unknown Herbaceous

Anise, an herb in the parsley family, is widely used in the food industry as a flavoring, antioxidant, antispoilage agent and preservative. It is sweet, highly fragrant. Its flavor is somewhat similar to licorice. The oils are used in the production of perfumes and soaps. The leaves are used to garnish dishes and can be used in preparing soups, sauces, and salad. The oil is used for flavoring. The crushed seeds are often used for seasoning cakes, fruit dishes, pastries, cheeses, bread, and cookies.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 30 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Often confused with Conium maculatum

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Annual; Edible; Herb
Life cycle
Annual
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Leaf color
Green
Leaf margin
Lobed; Serrate
Leaf value
Edible; Fragrant
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaves new the base are long-stalked and simple, leaves along the stem are compound with shorter stalks.
Flower color
White
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Gold/Yellow; Green
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit detail
Ovoid-pear shaped
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Egypt, middle east
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Fruit; Leaves; Seeds

Edibility

Leaves and seeds as flavoring

Uses (ethnobotany)

Flavoring, seasoning

Landscape Use
Garden tags
#annual #herb garden #edible
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Diseases; Insect Pests; Poor Soil
Propagation
Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.