Shiny, leathery evergreen leaves, when crushed between your fingers, emit an anise scent. The seed pods that follow are hard and star-shaped. Dense foliage year-round makes Illicium ideal for screening or in a foundation planting. With a maximum height of 8-9', you can choose to limb yours up to small tree form and plant shade perennials underneath. Native to the southeastern U.S. Purple Anise is often found in moist locations but also tolerates average garden soils.
Insignificant flowers give rise to interesting star-shaped seed pods.
Growing well in sun or shade and wet or dry, Small Anise-Tree adds a wonderful presence in the winter garden and is handsome for screening. For a fragrance treat, crush a few leaves as you pass on your daily garden rounds. This is Larry Lowman's new selection of a very versatile native shrub. Itea is usually found in the wild along streams or in swampy ground, but I have seen it thriving on a dry, exposed highway embankment planting in full sun. Long, drooping wands of small, white, fragrant flowers cover plants in late spring and are a favorite of butterflies and other nectar feeders.