Southern gardeners know it as the anise tree, although it's a shrub with pleasing coarse leaves and novel flowers in spring, like starbursts.
From the dispatch.com
Star anise is a seed pod from a tree that's related to the magnolia.
From the charlotteobserver.com
Star anise, which has a licorice flavor, is the seed pod of an evergreen tree and is used in many Chinese dishes.
From the sacbee.com
It has a distinctive anise-like flavor that comes from adding leaves from the aromatic yerba santa tree that is considered to have medicinal properties.