Anice is the sweet seeds of a flowering herb.  It bears a strong family resemblance to the members of the carrot family, that includes dill, fennel, coriander, cumin and caraway with its fine feathery leaves. Many of these relatives have been described as having a licorice flavour, to some extent, but anise is the true taste of licorice— its oils are distilled into the flavouring for licorice candy (not from the herb licorice, which has a different taste).