Anise

Sowing: Anise is usually grown from seed sown directly in the garden in early spring, using fresh seed since viability drops quickly after two years; sow 1-2 seeds per inch and about 1/4 inch deep, and expect germination within 6 to 14 days at around 70°F (21°C). Once seedlings reach about 3 inches tall, thin them to roughly 6 inches apart in rows spaced 18 inches apart. Anise can also be started as transplants and moved into the garden.

Siting: Give plants full sun and a light, well-drained, moderately rich sandy loam, though the crop will also grow in chalk, clay, loam, or sandy soils. Plants reach roughly 0.5 to 1 metre (about 24 inches) tall and may need staking to keep the slender stems from lodging.

Anise is generally described as resistant to diseases and insect pests and tolerant of poor soil, suggesting it is not typically troubled by serious pest or disease problems in the garden.

Seeds take a long season to mature, needing at least 130 days of growth before they are ready. Harvest as soon as the tips of the fruits turn gray, cutting the seed heads before the fruits darken fully to black.

Culinary: The seeds, known as aniseed, are crushed and used to season cakes, breads, cookies, pastries, cheeses, and fruit dishes, while the fresh leaves garnish dishes or flavor soups, sauces, and salads. The essential oil is used both as a direct flavoring and to give absinthe, anisette, and Pernod their characteristic taste, and aniseed itself is steeped for a soothing herbal tea.

Industrial: Beyond the kitchen, anise oil is used in the making of perfumes and soaps, and in food production it also serves as an antioxidant and antispoilage preservative.

Medicinal: Traditional texts from the Mediterranean and Middle East recorded anise as a remedy for complaints such as nightmares, melancholy, seizures, and epilepsy, reflecting its long-standing place in folk and traditional medicine rather than any modern clinical use.

Anise is native to the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, and Southwest Asia, the region from which it entered cultivation. From this homeland it spread widely, and today it is grown across southern Europe, southern Russia, North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, China, and in the Americas, with cultivated stands recorded from Portugal in the west to China in the east.