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.
The leaves are 6-12 cm long with prominently wavey margins and aniseed aroma.
Flowers are white and sweetly scented, borne in panicles.
The fruit are dry papery capsules 5 mm long.
Ringwood's natural distribution in the wild is restricted to the Nambucca and Bellinger Valleys in the subtropics of New South Wales, Australia.
Used as a flavouring spice and herb tea ingredient.
The essential oil of S.anisatum contains anethole and methyl chavicol, imparting aniseed and licorice flavours respectively.
Aniseed myrtle is the name originally coined to specifically describe high quality selections of the trans-anethole chemotype (90%+) - generally recognized as safe for flavouring.
These selections are propagated from cutting for consistent essential oil quality. The aniseed myrtle selections are also low in methyl chavicol and cis-anethole, less than 0.1%.
Research indicates that aniseed myrtle oil has antimicrobial activity, including on the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans.