The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Anise Seed

ANISE SEED, the fruit of the pimpinella anisum, a native of Europe and Africa. It is extensively employed as a carminative medicine, and for the purpose of flavoring liqueurs or medicines. It yields an aromatic oil both by distillation and expression, which is used for the same purposes as the seed, and is also a favorite article with vermin-killers, who employ it to disguise the scent of poisonous baits. The anise-seed cordial of the shops is a compound of alcohol, anise seed, and angelica. The plant is cultivated in Malta and Spain, and grows spontaneously in Egypt and the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, especially Scio. The genus pimpinella belongs to the umbelliferous tribes of plants inhabiting meadows and mountains in Europe and Africa.