Illicium Parviflorum A. Michaux Ex E.P. Ventenat Yellow Anise (Badianifera Parviflora, Cymbostemon Parviflorus)

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Illicium parviflorum A. Michaux ex E.P. Ventenat Yellow Anise (Badianifera parviflora, Cymbostemon parviflorus)

Other Common Names: Anise, Hardy Anise, Ocala Anise, Ocala Yellow Star, Small Anise Tree, Small Flowered Anise, Swamp Star Anise, Yellow Anis Tree. Family: Schisandraceae or sometimes segregated into its own family as the Illiciaceae. Cold Hardiness: Yellow Anise is useful in USDA hardiness zones 7(6b) to 10. Foliage: Alternate or in tight clusters near the branch tips, the simple, evergreen, broadly lanceolate, elliptic to ovate leaves are leathery and light green to medium olive-green in color, lacking the luster of I. floridanum; blades are 2½ to 4 long by 1¼ to 2 wide with entire margins, and acute to acuminate bases with rounded tips; veins are pinnate and lighter in color above on the main veins; petioles are short relative to the blades. Flower: Perfect flowers are mostly solitary on arching pendant peduncles in spring; the small ¼ to ½ diameter cup-shaped flowers have 11 to 16, short, rounded to broadly ovate tepals that are yellow- green in color; multiple stamen are present, but in lesser numbers than on I. floridanum; flowers are much smaller and inconsequential ornamentally compared to I. floridanum. Fruit: The fruit are aggregates of 10 to 15 dry single-seeded follicles in an unusual pattern resembling a composite star-shaped flower; they progress from light green to brown at maturity in late summer to fall. Stem / Bark: Stems — medium textured stems are mostly erect, initially green becoming darker brown with just a sprinkling of lenticels at maturity; Buds —vegetative are green, imbricate, ovoid, tiny, 1 ≤ /16; floral buds are larger and concentrated in the terminal nodes; Bark — smooth dark brown and shallowly fissured with old age. Habit: Yellow Anise is an upright oval to suckering evergreen shrub growing 10 to 15 (rarely 20) tall; plants can spread to form colonies via root suckers or where branches contact the soil; the overall texture is medium to medium-coarse; growth rates are modest, but can be rapid from suckers on established plants. Cultural Requirements: Established plants are more drought tolerant than I. floridanum, but still require fairly uniform moisture and are not a good choice for dry landscapes; although often used as a general purpose evergreen shrub, this species is most successful in shadier locations; best growth is on moist, rich, acidic soils; plants respond well to fertilization; moderate salinity tolerance is reported; tolerates heavy clay soils better than many of our shade loving shrubs. Pathological Problems: Few of consequence. Ornamental Assets: Rich dense olive-green foliage in shady locations, give a bit of pruning. Limitations & Liabilities: Tends to develop leaf scorch in dry sunny locations, chlorosis on high pH or poor fertility sites; lacks impact other than the foliage; foliage / fruit are poisonous to some livestock. Landscape Utilization: Often grown in the Southeastern USA, including eastern portions of our region, as a general purpose evergreen shrub for shady locations; plants can be shorn to lower heights but look better if this is done by selective pruning of stems rather than indiscriminate shearing of the relatively large leaves; sometimes used along water features for erosion control or in rain gardens where it tolerates periodically wet soils; sometimes grown in coastal landscapes for its salt tolerance. Other Comments: the genus name means allurement associated with its aromatic foliage and the specific epithet means small flowered. Native Habitat: This species is endemic to a limited area in Central Florida. Related Taxa: The genus Illicium L. contains about 40 species, but only the two native North American species I. floridanum and I. parviflorum are encountered with any regularity in our regional landscapes; under a broader interpretation of the family as the Schisandraceae, the Kadsura Vine or Scarlet Kadsura, Kadsura japonica (L.) M.F. Dunal, which is sometimes encountered in USDA hardiness zones 7b to 13 is a distant relative; Kadsura Vine is a coarse textured evergreen vine usually grown for its dark glossy green or variously variagated foliage with a number of patterns of white, cream or yellowish variegation on a dark green background; it climbs by twining to heights of about 10 and can be used on arbors, trellises, and fences; Kadsura Vine requires a well drained moderately moist soil located in filtered shade to part sun as leaves tend to scorch in hot sunny sites; aggregates of bright red fruit can add late season interest on female vines of this dioecious species.

Illicium floridanum J. Ellis Florida Anise (Badianifera floridana, Illicium mexicanum) • Also known as Florida Anise Tree, Starbush, or Stinkbush, I. floridanum grows to be a large, irregularly rounded, multistem, broadleaved, evergreen shrub or small tree 8 to 12 (rarely 25) in height; plants are more spreading and not as dense and regular in habit as I. parviflorum; the olive- green leaves are leathery in texture with long acute to accuminate tips, in contrast to the rounded tips on I. parviflorum; foliage has a spicy anise scent when crushed. • Flowers are attractive in bloom reminding one of smaller more open versions of Calycanthus floridus, with 21 to 33, spreading, narrowly lanceolate, rusty red tepals, whoever there is one big difference; flowers of I. floridanum smell like fish, definitely not the fragrance asset as on C. floridus; a few misguided individuals claim the flowers are aromatic in a musky sense, while most consider them malodorous; flowers are a visual asset when they are far enough away that they cannot be smelled; flowers are smaller and more flattened than those of C. floridus, but larger, 1 to 2 diameter, and showier than those of I. parviflorum; in addition to shades of maroon and dark red, I. floridanum has some creamy white flowered selections; stamen are numerous, 30 - 40; fruit appears similar to that of Yellow Anise. • Florida Anise is useful in USDA hardiness zones 7 to 10; plants are normally found in low wet sites in their native habitat and require steady moisture and a shady location; more sun can be tolerated if irrigation is provided; drought tolerance is poor; plants should be located on acidic soils as chlorosis can develop on higher pH sites; plants can spread from root suckers; the overall texture is medium- coarse; this species is native along the Coastal Plain from Louisiana to the panhandle of Florida and in Central Alabama, with disjunct populations in Northeast Mexico. • This species can be used in shade gardens or for naturalizing in shaded woodlands, provided sufficient moisture is present; Florida Anise can also be used as a marginal plant along water features for erosion control or in locations which experience temporary flooding such as rain gardens.

References: Brown and Kirkman, 1990; Dirr, 2009; Elias, 1980; Flint, 1997; Grimm, 1993; Nelson et al., 2014; Sternburg, 2004; Tripp and Raulston, 1995.