Illicium floridanum 'Halley's Comet'

The anise trees, genus Illicium, are aromatic broadleaf evergreens of the star-anise family, Schisandraceae, named from the Latin illicium, an allurement, for the scent of their leaves. Illicium floridanum, the Florida anise, is the Southeast's own contribution, a shade-loving evergreen native along shaded streambanks and seepage slopes from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana. 'Halley's Comet' is one of the best selections, a vigorous but compact form with especially dark foliage and a heavy show of velvety, star-shaped flowers in deep wine-red.

In bloom the flowers seem to hover against the glossy leaves like a scatter of dark red stars, and the plant flowers more freely than the run of the species, giving real drama to the spring shade garden. The leathery, three to six inch leaves are anise-scented when crushed, pleasant and characteristic of the genus, though, like all Florida anise, the foliage and fruit are toxic and not the culinary star anise of the spice rack. That same chemistry makes the plant reliably deer-resistant.

'Halley's Comet' was selected by the plantsman David Ellis and introduced by the former Magnolia Nursery of Chunchula, Alabama, a nursery long respected for its work with Southern natives. The selection stands out for intense flower color, strong repeat performance, and a denser, more compact habit than the wild plant, usually settling around six to eight feet.

Florida anise wants what few flowering shrubs will take: real shade and steady moisture. Use 'Halley's Comet' for woodland borders and shaded foundations, massed beneath canopy trees, or as an evergreen screen in a moist, shady spot where little else will bloom. The dark foliage gives year-round structure, and the rich flowers bring unexpected depth to spring shade. Ferns, evergreen hollies, native azaleas, and hydrangeas make natural companions; keep the soil from drying, and mulch to mimic the woodland floor.