I have to admit that for a long time I thought this was Illicium floridanum and I kept wondering why it never bloomed for me. This year, I was searching my host plants for caterpillars and this plant finally caught my eye and I saw little flowers and seed pods on it. I posted pictures to the Florida Gardening Forum and thanks to @plantladylin for suggesting I had Illicium parviflorum instead! I forgot which one I bought, apparently.

But I'm so glad I did buy this one as it's endangered and I love growing endangered plants. And this one couldn't be easier to grow. I really wish I had somewhere I could grow it as a hedge because I think it would be great for that. Mine grows in the shade next to a tree and we keep the lower limbs cleared so we can mow around it. My Dad does the trimming and mowing and says it smells like root beer. That should have been an indication I had the Yellow Anise. The flowers are small but the seed pods are very interesting. I think it's a plant you would want to grow for the foliage. Mine also grew really fast so if you're looking to fill a spot or hide from the neighbors, this would be good. I also see small birds hanging out in it so the wildlife seem to appreciate it, too. I would highly recommend this plant as it is really easy to grow. Plus, you'd be helping an endangered native plant make a comeback!

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