Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

native to the eastern Mediterranean region and

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as

star anise ''Illicium verum'' (star anise or badian, Chinese star anise, star anise seed, star aniseed and star of anise) is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to South China and northeast Vietnam. Its star-shaped pericarps harvested just before ripen ...

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

liquorice Liquorice ( Commonwealth English) or licorice (American English; see spelling differences; ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring is ...

, and

tarragon Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herbaceous plant, herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medic ...

. It is widely cultivated and used to flavor food, candy, and alcoholic drinks, especially around the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

Etymology

The name "anise" is derived via

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

from the Latin words or from Greek ''ánēthon'' referring to dill. An obsolete English word for anise is ''anet'', also coming from ''anīsum''.

Botany

Anise is an herbaceous annual plant growing to or more. The leaves at the base of the plant are simple, long and shallowly lobed, while leaves higher on the stems are feathery or lacy,

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

, divided into numerous small leaflets. Both leaves and flowers are produced in large, loose clusters. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are either white or yellow, approximately in diameter, produced in dense

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

s. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a dry oblong and curved schizocarp, long, usually called "aniseed".

Ecology

Anise is a food plant for the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species (

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

and

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s), including the lime-speck pug and wormwood pug.

Cultivation

Anise was first cultivated in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and was brought to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

for its medicinal value. It has been cultivated in Egypt for approximately 4,000 years. Anise plants grow best in light, fertile, well-drained soil. The seeds should be planted as soon as the ground warms up in spring. Because the plants have a

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

, they do not transplant well after being established so they should either be started in their final location or be transplanted while the seedlings are still small.

Production

Western cuisines have long used anise to flavor dishes, drinks, and candies. The word is used for both the species of herb and its licorice-like flavor. The most powerful flavor component of the

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

of anise, anethole, is found in both anise and an unrelated spice indigenous to

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

called star anise ('' Illicium verum'') widely used in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

n and

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

n dishes. Star anise is considerably less expensive to produce and has gradually displaced ''P. anisum'' in Western markets. While formerly produced in larger quantities, by 1999 world production of the essential oil of anise was only 8 tons, compared to 400 tons of star anise.

Uses

Composition

As with all spices, the composition of anise varies considerably with origin and cultivation method. These are typical values for the main constituents. :Moisture: 9–13% :Protein: 18% :Fatty oil: 8–23% :Essential oil: 2–7% :Starch: 5% :N-free extract: 22–28% :Crude fibre: 12–25% In particular, the anise seeds products should also contain more than 0.2 milliliter volatile oil per 100 grams of spice.

Culinary

Troach sweet - 2018-08-21 - Andy Mabbett

Anise is sweet and

aromatic In organic chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property describing the way in which a conjugated system, conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibits a stabilization stronger than would be expected from conjugati ...

, distinguished by its characteristic flavor. The seeds, whole or ground, are used for preparation of teas and tisanes (alone or in combination with other aromatic herbs), as well many regional and ethnic confectioneries, including black jelly beans (often marketed as licorice-flavored), British aniseed balls, aniseed twists and "troach" drops, Australian humbugs, New Zealand aniseed wheels, Italian '' pizzelle'' and '' biscotti'', German '' Pfeffernüsse'' and '' Springerle'', Austrian ''Anisbögen'', Dutch '' muisjes'', New Mexican '' bizcochitos'' and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian '' picarones.'' The culinary uses of anise are not limited only to sweets and confections, as it is a key ingredient in Mexican '' atole de anís'' and ''

champurrado Champurrado is a chocolate-based ''atole'', a warm and thick Mexican cuisine, Mexican beverage. It is prepared with either a ''masa'' (Limewater#Food Preparation, lime-treated corn dough),'' masa harina'' (a dried version of this dough), or maize ...

'', which is similar to

hot chocolate Hot Chocolate are a British soul band formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1984. Their hits include " You Sexy Thing", a UK number two which also made ...

. In

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, it is taken as a digestive after meals, used in

brine Brine (or briny water) is a high-concentration solution of salt (typically sodium chloride or calcium chloride) in water. In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawat ...

s in the Italian region of

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

and as a flavoring agent in Italian sausage, pepperoni and other Italian processed meat products. The freshly chopped leaves are added to cheese spreads, dips or salads, while roots and stems impart a mild licorice flavor to soups and stews.

Liquor

Anise is used to flavour Greek and Bulgarian ; Italian ; French , , and ; Portuguese which has an aniseed stem in each bottle crystallised with sugar, Spanish , , , and Herbs de Majorca; Turkish and Armenian ; Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli ; and Algerian . Outside the Mediterranean region, it is found in Colombian and Mexican . These liqueurs are clear, but on addition of water become cloudy, a phenomenon known as the ouzo effect. Anise is used together with other herbs and spices in some root beers, such as Virgil's in the United States.

Traditional medicine

The main use of anise in traditional European

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

was for its carminative effect (reducing

flatulence Flatulence is the expulsion of gas from the Gastrointestinal tract, intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swal ...

), as noted by

John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular garde ...

in his ''Great Herball'', an early encyclopedia of herbal medicine:

The seed wasteth and consumeth winde, and is good against belchings and upbraidings of the stomach, alaieth gripings of the belly, provoketh urine gently, maketh abundance of milke, and stirreth up bodily lust: it staieth the laske (
diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...
), and also the white flux (
leukorrhea Leukorrhea or (leucorrhoea British English), also known as fluor albus, is a thick, whitish, yellowish or greenish vaginal discharge. It has also been referred to as "the whites". There are many causes of leukorrhea, the usual one being estrogen ...
) in women.John Gerard
''The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes''
, 1597, p. 880, side 903

According to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, anise was used as a cure for sleeplessness, chewed with alexanders and a little

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

in the morning to freshen the breath, and, when mixed with wine, as a remedy for asp bites ( N.H. 20.72). In 19th-century medicine, anise was prepared as ' ("Water of Anise") in doses of an ounce or more and as ' ("Spirit of Anise") in doses of 5–20 minims. In Turkish folk medicine, its seeds have been used as an

appetite Appetite is the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger. Appealing foods can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be greatly reduced by satiety. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to reg ...

stimulant, tranquilizer or

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics ...

Essential oil

Anise

can be obtained from the fruits by either steam distillation or extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide. The yield of essential oil is influenced by the growing conditions and extraction process, with supercritical extraction being more efficient. Regardless of the method of isolation the main component of the oil is anethole (80–90%), with minor components including 4-anisaldehyde,

estragole Estragole (''p''-allylanisole, methyl chavicol) is a phenylpropene, a natural organic compound. Its chemical structure consists of a benzene ring substituted with a methoxy group and an allyl group. It is an isomer of anethole, differing with resp ...

and pseudoisoeugenyl-2-methylbutyrates amongst others. (Alternately found by Orav et al. 2008 to be 2–6% extracted oil by weight of raw seed material, 74–94% being ''trans''-anethole and the remaining fraction

(methylchavicol), anisaldehyde and γ-himachalene.) Anethole is responsible for anise's characteristic odor and flavor.

Other uses

Builders of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s in Britain incorporated capsules of aniseed oil into white metal

plain bearing file:NYC 100-driving-axle-friction-bearing.jpg, Plain bearing on a 1906 S-Motor locomotive showing the axle, bearing, oil supply and oiling pad file:Linear-table with detail numbered.png, A sliding table with four cylindrical bearings file:GWR Spo ...

s so the distinctive smell would give warning in case of overheating. Anise can be made into a liquid scent and is used for both drag hunting and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. It is put on fishing lures to attract

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...