General Landscape Uses:
Hedges, screening.
Availability:
Widely available in central Florida. Commonly available at native plant nurseries in northeast Florida.
Description: Dense evergreen shrub 6-20 feet tall with leathery leaves and a rounded shape. Leaves are aromatic and smell of licorice when crushed or bruised. Small yellow flowers in the spring followed by brown star-shaped capsules in the late summer and fall.
Dimensions: Typically 6-20 feet in height. Taller than broad.
Range:
Endemic to peninsular Florida. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the
Exploring Florida website.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Wet hammocks and swamps.
Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to poorly-drained organic or sandy soils, often with acid pH.
Nutritional Requirements: High; requires rich organic soils for optimal growth.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Moderate to light shade.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season: Spring.
Fruit: Brown, star-shaped capsule. Sometimes called "star anise."
Horticultural Notes: Reportedly highly resistant to deer damage.
References: Wunderlin and Hansen (
2011), Nelson (
2003)
Comments: We have been adding data for this species for central and northern Florida and welcome any feedback or review. If you would like to contribute information or images, please contact George Gann via the IRC staff page. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
