Anise

Pimpinella anisum

herb

Anise is a delicate annual herb grown for its sweet, licorice-flavored seeds and lacy, edible foliage. Reaching about 2 feet, it carries flat umbels of small white flowers that draw beneficial insects before the aromatic seeds ripen.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Cilantro — Sowing the two together is said to improve anise germination
• Cabbage — Aromatic anise helps confuse and repel brassica pests
• Beans — Fix nitrogen while anise draws beneficial wasps overhead

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aphids →

  The umbel flowers draw hoverflies and wasps that prey on aphids; hose off any clusters

🌾 Harvest & storage

Snip fresh leaves anytime for salads. For seed, cut the umbels when the heads turn brown in late summer, dry them on a cloth, then rub out and store the seeds. Harvest on a dry morning to limit shattering.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Anise seeds are rich in anethole, the aromatic oil behind their licorice flavor, used in teas and baking to soothe digestion; the flowers feed parasitic wasps and hoverflies.