Pimpinella anisum - Anise is a flowering plant native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. The plant produces small white flowers bunched in clusters. The plant grows to about 90 centimeters in height and produces tiny seeds; 3 to 5 millimeters long. It is a food plant for several butterfly and moth species still in the larvae stage. Human use includes cultivating the dry seeds for use as a flavoring in various foods and beverages. The seeds have a distinctive licorice taste.
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Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centering itself in Lebanon with its capital at Byblos. The Phoenicians owed their prosperity to an extensive network of trade routes they had established along the entire Southern Mediterranean coastline. Rather than having a centralized form of government, Phoenicia consisted of several independent city states united to serve a common cause; trade. The Phoenicians reigned from 1200 BC until they were absorbed into the Persian Empire in 539 BC.
