Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

Florida anise

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Illicium floridanum

Family:

Illiciaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

15 ft tall by 8 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

red

Fruit Color:

Brown

Phenology:

Evergreen. Blooms in spring. Fruits ripen in fall.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Screen or specimen plant in shady wet settings.

Considerations:

Availability:

Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Light:

Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Acidic to neutral

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators

Pollinated by a variety of insects, especially native flies and beetles.

Native Habitats:

Slope forest, floodplain forest, hydric hammocks, seep stream (banks), steepheads.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

The distribution mimics the distribution of steepheads, a stream/valley system that originates in a very steep-headed ravine where the water seeps out of the ground to form a stream, and the headwall gradually moves uphill due to the water exiting the ground undermining it.