FLOWER OF THE WEEK AT SOPCHOPPY DEPOT PARK

Florida anise

By LYNN ARTZ, DAVID RODDENBERRY, and SANDY TEDDER

Florida anise (Illicium floridanum) is an attractive underused shrub for shady spots. This upright multi-trunked evergreen has 2-6-inch-long glossy green leaves that smell like anise or licorice when crushed. Maroon star-shaped flowers appear in the spring. Each showy 2-inch flower has 20-30 strap-like petals. The flower’s smell does not match its beauty but attracts the native flies and beetles that pollinate it. The resulting 1-inch star-shaped fruit explodes to disperse seeds. The shrub also spreads by root suckers. Florida anise prefers part-to-full shade and moist, rich soil. It grows 10-15 feet tall and 6-10 feet wide with dense foliage. Other names for this attractive, long-lived, low-maintenance shrub include anise tree, purple anise, and star-anise. Florida anise is blooming now in the woodland at Sopchoppy Depot Park.