Pimpinella anisum

An annual herb growing to 0.5m tall by 0.2m wide, frost-tender and hardy to UK zone 8. Foliage present May to October with July flowering and seed ripening August to September. Prefers well-drained light sandy or medium loamy soil, tolerating mildly acid to basic pH. Requires full sun and adapts to dry or moist soil. Self-fertile, pollinated by insects.

Description

A herb which re-grows from seed each year. It grows 50- 60 cm high. It spreads 40-50 cm wide. The leaves near the ground are simple, broad and oval. The leaves on the stems are finely cut into 3 leaflets. These are feathery looking leaves. The leaves are mid green and have teeth around the edge. The flowers form flat white heads. These are on wispy, fine stems. The seed are about 3 mm long. They are oval and curved. They are pale brown.

Edible Uses

Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked and have a sweet aniseed flavour — refreshing to chew and pleasant as a flavouring in salads, puddings, soups, and stews. When adding to cooked dishes, stir in the leaves only during the last few minutes to preserve the flavour. The aromatic seeds are eaten raw or used to flavour a wide range of foods including soups, pies, bread, and cakes; their distinctive sweet liquorice flavour also supports digestion. To harvest, cut the whole plant when seed is ripe, keep in a warm dry place for a week, then thresh to remove seeds, which should be stored in a dark, airtight jar. An essential oil from the seed is used to flavour sweets (especially aniseed balls), ice cream, chewing gum, and pickles, and is widely used in alcoholic drinks such as pernod, ouzo, and anisette. Both the leaves and seeds can be brewed into a sweet liquorice-like tea.

Traditional Uses

Seeds are used to give a licorice taste to foods. Leaves can be used fresh in salads or added to soups and stews when the food is almost cooked. The oil can be used for flavouring. Fruit are used to flavour biscuits and cakes. The leaves and seeds are brewed into a sweet, licorice-like tea.

Medicinal Uses

Aniseed has a delicious sweet liquorice-like flavour and is a commonly used and very safe herbal remedy suited to all age groups from children to the elderly, though its use has declined with the rise of cheaper substitutes such as Illicium verum and synthetic alternatives. It is a particularly useful tonic to the digestive system, and its antispasmodic and expectorant effects make it valuable in treating respiratory problems. The seed is the primary part used, generally as an extracted essential oil. The essential oil comprises 70–90% anethole, which has an observed oestrogenic effect; the seed itself is also mildly oestrogenic. This may support the herb's traditional use as a stimulant of sexual drive and breast-milk production. The essential oil should not be taken internally except under professional supervision, and the seeds are best avoided medicinally during pregnancy, though normal culinary quantities are considered safe. The seed is antiseptic, antispasmodic, aromatic, carminative, digestive, expectorant, pectoral, stimulant, stomachic, and tonic. Internally it is used for asthma, whooping cough, coughs, and other pectoral complaints, as well as digestive disorders including wind, bloating, colic, nausea, and indigestion. Externally it treats lice, scabies, and is used as a chest rub for bronchial disorders. A strong decoction of the seeds can be applied to swollen breasts or used to stimulate milk flow. The German Commission E Monographs approve it for cough and bronchitis, fevers and colds, common cold, inflammation of the mouth and pharynx, dyspepsia, and loss of appetite. It is contraindicated in patients allergic to anise and anethole; sensitisation as an adverse effect is rarely observed.

Distribution

It is a cool temperate plant. Plants are grown in summer in temperate climates. In the monsoonal tropics it is best grown in the cooler, drier season. It needs to have full sunlight. It needs shelter from strong winds. The soil should be light and sandy and well drained. Seeds need long hot summers to dry properly. In Nepal it grows to about 3000 m altitude. Plants will often only flower after long, hot summers. It can grow in arid places. In Argentina it grows between 400-1,500 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 4-8.

Where It Grows

Africa, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Britain, Bulgaria, Caucasus, Central America, Central Asia, Chile, China, Crete, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Europe, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Himalayas, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Moldova, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, North Africa, North America, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scandinavia, SE Asia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South America, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Timor-Leste, Trinidad-Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey*, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Xinjiang, West Africa, West Indies, Yugoslavia,

Cultivation

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil but prefers a fairly rich warm well-drained light soil in a sunny position. Prefers a pH in the range 6 to 7.5. Aniseed has a very long history of herbal and culinary use, and is often cultivated for its edible and medicinal seed in warm temperate zones. The plant needs warm summers if it is to grow well and seeds only ripen in Britain in long warm summers. Plants strongly resent root disturbance and should not be transplanted. A good companion plant in the garden, its aromatic nature helping to keep nearby plants free of aphis etc. Its flowers attract parasitic wasps to the garden and these prey on a large number of garden pests. Aniseed grows especially well with coriander.

Propagation

Sow seed in situ in mid to late spring. This timing only reliably produces ripe seed in years with hot summers. For a more certain crop, sow 4–5 seeds per pot in a greenhouse in early spring; germination should occur within 3 weeks. Thin to the strongest seedling and plant out after the last expected frosts. Aniseed strongly resents root disturbance.

Other Uses

An essential oil from the seed is used in perfumery, toothpastes, medicines, and food flavourings. The powdered seed can serve as a dentifrice and mouthwash. The plant is an ingredient of pot-pourri. It acts as an insect repellent but is also said to attract mice; liberally smearing aniseed oil around live-traps can draw in mice and other rodents. The plants appear immune to slug and snail damage and may help protect neighbouring plants. A spray made by boiling one part coriander leaves and one part anise seeds in two parts water is highly effective against red spider mites and woolly aphids.

Production

Seed are harvested when the heads are dry then dried in the sun. Fresh leaves can be picked as needed.

Other Information

It is a cultivated commercial crop.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Anice, Anijs, Anis, Anisa, Anisu, Anizs, Badian, Badishep, Cinimo, Guamrui, Huei-hsiang, Jintan manis, Koromač, Kuppi, Mith-jira, Muhuri, Pa chio, Pekak, Qammuun, Saunf, Sawonf, Shetapushapa, Shombu, Somp, Sompf, Sonf, Sop, Sopu, Souf, Suara, Sweet cumin, Yanisun

References (46)

• Ali-Shtayeh, M. S., et al, 2008, Traditional knowledge of wild edible plants used in Palestine (Northern West Bank): A comparative study. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 4: 13
• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 456
• Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994)
• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 798
• Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 266

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