Syzygium anisatum

Syzygium anisatum, with common names ringwood and aniseed tree, is a rare Australian rainforest tree with an aromatic leaf that has an essential oil profile comparable to true aniseed.

Should not be confused with Clausena anisata, a small tree native to Southeast Asia and Australia.

The leaf from cultivated plantations is used as a bushfood spice and distilled for the essential oil, and is known in the trade as aniseed myrtle or anise myrtle.

The ringwood tree has a dense crown and grows up to 45 metres tall. The leaves are 6–12 cm long with prominently undulated margins and rich aniseed aroma when crushed.

Flowers are white and sweetly scented, borne in panicles. The fruit are dry papery capsules around 5 mm long and are white in appearance.

Ringwood's natural distribution in the wild is restricted to the Nambucca and Bellinger Valleys in the subtropics of New South Wales, Australia.