Anise Hyssop is a bee, hummingbird, and butterfly magnet. Goldfinches also like to eat its seeds. The color and shape of the flowers are among bees’ favorites. Anise hyssop can be found in open prairies, but also likes growing on the edges of open woodlands. Anise Hyssop has very showy flowers and fragrant foliage.

New seedlings are hardy and can be transplanted easily. Anise Hyssop makes an excellent addition to herb gardens, borders, perennial gardens, and prairie restorations. When the leaves of the Anise Hyssop are crushed they smell like licorice and have been used to make tea and cold remedies.

Anise hyssop will grow to a height of 2′ or more depending on sunlight and soil. Each plant sends up attractive and fragrant spikes of rich purple flowers from early summer into fall. The small flowers are arranged in dense whorls that are crowded along the spike, although sometimes the whorls are less crowded and more interrupted. The calyx of a flower is tubular and has five teeth; it is usually dull blue-violet or a similar color, becoming more colorful toward its tips.