| General Description | The Illicium anisatum or the Japanese Star Anise tree is a slow glowing, medium sized, pyramidal broadleaf evergreen shrub in the Schisandraceae family. It has glossy leaves with white blooms. |
| ID Characteristic | Rubber-like dark green aromatic leaves, when crushed they have a licorice scent. Multi green stemmed. |
| Shape | Dense foliage, erect, multi-stemmed, oval, pyramidal. |
| Landscape | Native plant grown often in Japan for its naturalization and aromatic nature. It can be used in the landscape for moist shady areas in masse, screenings, against walls and garden side borders. More formal form than I. floridanum that is more often used. Could be used as informal hedge. |
| Propagation | Can be propagated by stem cutting, layering, and seed. Propagation by seed can be directly sown in early spring in a greenhouse. Plant early summer, after frosts. Often needs protection from wind and lower temperatures for a year or two. Layering in early spring. Propagate stem cuttings in pots in loamy sandy soil until roots form, growing them in a
greenhouse for the first winter. |
| Cultivation | Slow growth rate. Prefers loamy, sandy, hummus, acidic-rich soils (6.1 – 6.5). Full Sun to partial shade; will tolerate low dappled shade. Not very frost tolerant. |
| Pests | No major pests relating to Japanese Star Anise, but Spider mites and scale are a common pest within the illicium genus. Particularly deer resistant. |
| Notable Specimens | UBC Botanical Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia has a Illicium anisatum, accessioned from 1972. 6804 SW Marine Dr, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4. |
| Habitat | Native to East Asia, usually found in shady, moist, acidic soiled areas of forests or along stream banks. Usually seen grown as understory, partial to full shade. |
| Bark/Stem Description | Multi trunked or clumping stems. Can be trained into a single trunk. Young bark is smooth, light green in colour with brownish dots, turning more light brown with age and developing fissures, giving it a scale-like look. Aromatic bark. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | Conical shaped bud starts small at 1-2 mm. Has overlapping, imbricate scales to protect bud during development. As the bud matures its scales turn from light green to reddish. |
| Leaf Description | Arrangement whorled. Alternate, simple, narrowly oval, entire, oblong-elliptic, 5-10 cm long and about 2-4 cm wide. Dark green in colour and very glossy, glabrous texture. |
| Flower Description | Flowers in March-April, has been seen flowering late February. Large, imbricate green to pale yellowish white flowers develop off of 1 inch long pedicles from leaf axils. 30 petals about 2.5 cm in diameter, slight to no fragrance. |
| Fruit Description | Fruit is star-shaped, 1 inch in diameter. Green turns to brown with age. Several follicles with seeds that ripen from September to October and are brownish red in colour. Fruits exhibit ballochroy to disperse seeds. A major neurotoxin (anisatin) is in the fruits and seeds, causing the plant to be poisonous to humans and animals. |
| Colour Description | Leaves are a deep green colour with slight brown spots or blotches on the undersides. Leaves can be lighter in colour in warmer climates. Bark is reddish brown. Flowers start off green and become a pale white or creamy yellow colour. When fruit starts to form, they are green then turn a dark red/brown colour when dry. |
| Texture Description | Coarse textured plant with rubbery, almost waxy textured leaves, smooth young bark getting more rigid with age. Leaves stay the same throughout the season. |