Illicium floridanum (variegated)

The anise trees, genus Illicium, are aromatic broadleaf evergreens of the star-anise family, Schisandraceae, their Latin name meaning an allurement, for the spicy scent of the leaves. Illicium floridanum, the Florida anise, is a Southeastern native of shaded streambanks and moist ravines from Georgia to Louisiana, valued as one of the finest flowering evergreens for shade. This is a variegated selection, carrying the usual two-inch, starfish-shaped maroon flowers over foliage marked with a subtle, quiet green-on-green variegation.

The variegation is understated, a soft patterning of lighter and darker green rather than the bold cream or gold of a splashier plant, and it gives the dark evergreen foliage a gentle, dappled depth in the shade. The crushed leaves are anise-scented, characteristic of the genus, and, as with every Florida anise, the foliage and fruit are toxic if eaten and unrelated in use to culinary star anise. That toxicity is also why deer leave the plant alone.

This form was found in northwest Florida by Steve Riefler, who noticed the pairing of the deep maroon-purple flowers with the subtle leaf variegation, an uncommon combination in a native shrub. Like the wild species, the plant builds into a medium, rounded evergreen of eight to ten feet, adaptable to most garden soils that are not too dry.

Site the variegated Florida anise in shade or semi-shade with moist, rich soil, where the quiet foliage patterning and dark flowers can be seen up close. Use as a woodland specimen, a shaded foundation shrub, or an evergreen screen in a damp, shady spot, and let the subtle variegation lighten a dim corner. Ferns, hostas, hellebores, and native azaleas make fitting company; keep the ground evenly moist and mulched.