ANISE
pimpinella anisum L.
Apiaceae
UMBELLIFERAE

Annual Plant

PARTS USED
ripe fruit and dried seeds

HABITAT
Greece to Europe, Central and South America

DESCRIPTION
Anise plant has a woody root,
coarse edged leaves and a round grooved stem.
Anise plant’s upper leaves
are delicate and feathery, with flowers that are
white to yellowish, and produces brown oval fruit,
less than an eighth of an inch long.
Whole plant has fragrant odor, and the seeds
taste sweet when chewed.
Ripens during August and September.

HISTORY
Anise was originally a native to the Middle East.
Anise plant is now grown in southern Europe,
Turkey, central Asia, India, China
Japan and Central and South America

Greek Physician Hippocrates recommended Anise
as a treatment for people with coughs.

According to ancient records,
the Roman Scholar Pliny used Anise as a breath freshener.

Today’s modern wedding cakes can trace their ancestry
back to spicy Anise cakes that the Roman’s used after feasts.