Star anise

Illicium verum

Schisandraceae

The eight-pointed spice of pho and five-spice — a licorice star with a lookalike that does not belong in a pot.

Culinary Chinese star anise (I. verum). Japanese star anise (I. anisatum) is toxic — buy named, food-grade spice.

Parts used: Dried fruit
Traditional notes: Kitchen spice · After a fatty braise · Traditional cold folklore in a kitchen pot
Grow · USDA 6b: Subtropical evergreen, USDA 8–10 in a mild winter; greenhouse north A nursery I. verum if you have the climate. Most kitchens buy the star. In work: Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec
Harvest: Unripe-to-ripe fruits, dried. A tree takes years.

Buy from a grocer, not a decorative shrub you cannot name.
Japanese star anise has more points, no sweet smell, and no place in a pot.
One star is a meal; five is a perfume factory.

Safety

Any star anise not sold as food Infant ‘star anise tea’ from an unknown bag

Lookalikes

Anise — Illicium and Pimpinella share a flavour and not a family. Japanese star anise is a toxic cousin of the Chinese spice — buy named culinary star anise, never a wild Illicium.

Lore

The Chinese name is bājiǎo, eight horns. Tamiflu’s first industrial route started from shikimic acid in this fruit, which is how a soup spice briefly became a strategic crop. Victorian Europe met it as a cheaper stand-in for true aniseed, then learned to like the star for itself.

The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.