日本莽草（学名： Illicium anisatum ）为八角属常绿乔木。与八角相似，但剧毒，不可食用。可用于制香供佛。

常绿乔木，高约10公尺，树干灰褐色。叶为长椭圆形，大多生长在枝条的顶端，冬天时不会掉落。花季为每年3-4月，由十几枚花瓣细长的淡黄色的花朵组成花被，性喜冷凉气候且耐寒。

• 叶

• 花

Illicium anisatum, with common names Japanese star anise, aniseed tree, and sacred anise tree, known in Japan as shikimi(樒, シキミ), is a tree closely related to the Chinese star anise. Since it is highly toxic, the fruit is not edible; instead, the dried and powdered leaves are burned as incense in Japan.