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Anise Hyssop

Agastache foeniculum

$9.50

Perennial herb in the mint family, native to dry forests, prairies, thickets, and meadows of North America. Strong sweet anise-scented foliage in opposite pairs up square stems.  Flower spikes of purple blossoms from summer into autumn grow up to 90cm tall and provide copious nectar for bees and butterflies. Winter dormant.

9cm pot.

Photos: Kahikatea Farm

Cultivation

Easy to grow in full sun or part shade, in average well drained soil.

Uses

Native American tribes like the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Navajo have a long history of using Anise Hyssop medicinally and it remains popular with modern herbalists. The leaves were also sometimes used in sweat lodge rituals, releasing an aromatic steam.

Both leaves and flowers are edible, although the leaves have the stronger anise scent and taste. They can be used to flavour drinks, fruit salads, and fresh or dried for a delicious sweet anise tea. Leaves can be steeped in milk ¬for making ice cream. They are also good in savoury dishes – try them fresh or dried with chicken, lamb or salmon or use as a mint subsstitue, e.g. when cooking peas.

Anise hyssop flowers are very attractive to bees and butterflies. Dried flowers can be used in flower arrangements and potpourri.

Medicinal Uses

Administered usually as a tea or tincture, Anise Hyssop is a warming digestive aid, stimulating the digestive system,  relieving flatulence and easing diarrhoea. It is useful for relieving congestion, coughs and colds, bronchitis and respiratory tract infections. A poultice of leaves and stems may be used to help heal burns and wounds, or may be added to baths to treat sunburn, or fungal infections such as athletes foot.

Primary Actions: carminative, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory Expectorant

Parts Used: Leaf

Energetics: Warming

History / Folklore / Further Info

Native Americans included Anise Hyssop in their medicine bundles burning it as incense for protection. Its uplifting fragrance was used to treat depression.

Jo Says

Anise hyssop is a really lovely plant for kids to grow. The flowers are long-lasting, easy to pick, and it’s fun to make ‘licorice’ tea from the leaves and flowers. The stems are very obviously square, which is typical of the mint family, so they can provide an easy lesson in botany and eco-literacy.

Shipping Advice

N.B. Shipping costs are added AFTER you have placed your order, you will then be emailed an invoice with bank details. 

Smallest box rate:
This can fit up to 9 plants in 9cm pots.

Shipping a single tree can be expensive. We may be able to fit more in the box for the same price! See our shipping rates for single and multi tree boxes.

Combining sizes?
No problem, we will work out the best rate for you once you’ve placed your order.

Full list of shipping rates HERE

Medical disclaimer

Jo has a passion for growing herbs but is not a qualified herbalist and has no medical background.

We are lucky to have Patricia Beagle working here at times, who is qualified, and some of her advice does appear on these pages, but herbs act differently for different people and can interact with other medicines. We therefore always recommend that you consult with your own qualified health-care practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing or on any medications.

Kahikatea Farm cannot take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of the plants or a plant not having the effect it is reputed to have. 

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