Anise (/ˈænɪs/;[3] Pimpinella anisum), also called aniseed or rarely anix,[4] is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae[2] native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia.

The name "anise" is derived via Old French from the Latin words anīsum or anēthum from Greek ἄνηθον ánēthon referring to dill.

[citation needed] The culinary uses of anise are not limited only to sweets and confections, as it is a key ingredient in Mexican atole de anís and champurrado, which is similar to hot chocolate.

[21] The freshly chopped leaves are added to cheese spreads, dips or salads, while roots and stems impart a mild licorice flavor to soups and stews.

[23] Anise is used to flavor Greek ouzo and Bulgarian mastika;[24] Italian sambuca;[24] French absinthe, anisette,[25] and pastis;[26] Spanish anis de chinchón,[27] anís,[28] anísado,[24] and Herbs de Majorca;[29] Turkish and Armenian rakı;[24] Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli arak;[24] and Algerian Anisette Cristal.

[33][34] The main use of anise in traditional European herbal medicine was for its carminative effect (reducing flatulence),[4] as noted by John Gerard in his Great Herball, an early encyclopedia of herbal medicine: The seed wasteth and consumeth winde, and is good against belchings and upbraidings of the stomach, alaieth gripings of the belly, provoketh urine gently, maketh abundance of milke, and stirreth up bodily lust: it staieth the laske (diarrhea), and also the white flux (leukorrhea) in women.

[35]According to Pliny the Elder, anise was used as a cure for sleeplessness, chewed with alexanders and a little honey in the morning to freshen the breath, and, when mixed with wine, as a remedy for asp bites (N.H.

[40] (Alternately found by Orav et al. 2008 to be 2–6% extracted oil by weight of raw seed material, 74–94% being trans-anethole and the remaining fraction estragole (methylchavicol), anisaldehyde and γ-himachalene.

[42] Builders of steam locomotives in Britain incorporated capsules of aniseed oil into white metal plain bearings so the distinctive smell would give warning in case of overheating.