Yellow Anisetree (Illicium parviflorum)

Illicium parviflorum seed in situ in FL.

Photo Credit: Chico Rivera

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Illiciacea
State: FL, GA
Nature Serve ID: 153827
Lifeform: Shrub, Tree
Date Inducted in National Collection: 10/30/2023

Description:

Where is Yellow Anisetree (Illicium parviflorum) located in the wild?

States & Provinces:

Yellow Anisetree can historically be found in Florida, Georgia

Which CPC Partners conserve Yellow Anisetree (Illicium parviflorum)?

The Huntington

Not Sponsored

Assigned 10/30/23

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Chico Rivera

11/25/2024

The Yellow star-anise, Illicium parviflorum, is an evergreen shrub that is typically found near spring-run or seepage streams, bottomland forests and hydric hammocks. It is endemic to central Florida, occurring naturally only in five counties. It has small white flowers (less than an inch wide) that produce a woody star-shaped fruit and smells like anise. The anise fragrance of its fruit and leaves can be considered “seductive”, as the Latin origin of its genus Illicium suggests, and might protect the plant from herbivory, since it is highly toxic.

In late August, Bok Tower Gardens’ Rare Plant Conservation Program traveled along various springs of the Ocala National Forest to survey populations and collect seeds. An extraordinary rainy period throughout the mid-summer temporary altered the hydrology of the sites, blocking access to some of the populations and compromising an optimal window for collection. Although fewer than anticipated seeds could be collected in 2024, preserving this germplasm in the ex situ collection can help preserve the genetics of the species.