Anise Hyssop

Description

Open-pollinated. Bushy Midwestern native permeates the air with sweet licorice fragrance. An outstanding insectary plant, its long-blooming nectar-laden purple flowers attract bees and parasitic wasps, butterflies and hummingbirds. Anise-scented foliage and flowers delightful as a tea or culinary seasoning, or filler in mixed bouquets. The tea induces sweating and strengthens the heart, was used also for fevers, colds, and by Native Americans as a cough medicine. Sow or transplant 1–1½’ apart in well-drained warm loam. Perennial can grow 3′ tall, 2′ wide. Vigorous self-sower. Not related to anise or hyssop. Zone 4. ~2,600 seeds/g. Especially attractive to pollinators.