8/21/05 Red or black may be the only choice at the candy store.

But in the garden, the pungent scent and flavor of licorice come from at least half a dozen different species, from billowy heads of wild sweet anise to stiff spikes of anise hyssop to coarse roots of true licorice.

While aficionados may distinguish between various licorice flavors - from peppery to sweet to acidic - most of us simply identify licorice as a distinctive taste, and often associate it with twisted ropes of stretchy, sugary candy. Even in recipes, anise and licorice may be requested interchangeably.

In the garden, the true licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a small shrub native to Asia and southern Europe. It bears stubby spikes of bluish-lavender flowers, and its roots are the source of most commercial licorice. It grows wild in rich, moist soil and is rarely cultivated in the United States. Seed is available, however, from a few mail-order companies specializing in unusual herbs.

True anise (Pimpinella anisum) is a common annual herb in the parsley family that grows wild from Greece to Asia. Licorice recipes often call for crushed anise seeds or extract. The leggy, ferny plants bear flat-top clusters of dainty white flowers and spread easily from seed. Planted alongside vegetables, they deter aphids, fleas and cabbage worms, and play host to beneficial wasps.

In Medieval times, the seeds were used to treat gas, to induce sweating, and to flavor treats.

Many of the imposters pack just as pungent a punch.

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The leaves of anise basil or licorice basil are often used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. Siam Queen is the most readily available. It grows about 2 feet tall and bears dark green leaves, purple stems and pink-violet flowers.

All basils are warm-season, annual herbs that are easily grown from seed. Pinch back any flowers that emerge in order to prolong the harvest and to prevent the plants from bolting.

Many local gardeners know sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) as sweet anise, and view the aromatic perennial more as a pest than anything else. The tall, ferny European weed has naturalized from the coast to the Sisquoc River, and even on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands. In my garden, I can appreciate the graceful, flat-topped flowers in pale yellow that look somewhat like dill. But it persists in seeding out and shooting up from roots I haven't managed to dig out.

On the flip side: Sweet anise is a terrific host plant for the larvae of swallowtail butterflies. You can harvest the seeds for baking and the leaves for a garnish or tossed in a salad. The roots can occasionally be found in specialty produce bins.

Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) is strongly scented, too, and has been used in teas for years. The upright perennial is more ornamental than some of the other licorice plants, bearing stout spikes of bluish-purple flowers that attract butterflies and honeybees.

Indeed, anise hyssop is said to be one of the best honey plants in the world. But no, the honey does not taste like licorice. Only the leaves do.

Recently, hybridizers have been promoting other agastaches, in a host of new colors, as great, drought-resistant plants. However, not all smell like licorice. Honeybee White, for instance, smells like mint. Most of these newcomers insist on good drainage and lean soil. But a few seem to tolerate heavier soil. If your soil is sandy, you should be fine. But if it tends toward clay, consider trying Sunset hyssop (Agastache rupestris), which smells like an odd mix of root beer and licorice. The deep orange-red flowers rise on chunky, 2-foot spires and attract hummingbirds.

Licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolare) is ornamental, too. But it's grown for its round, velvety leaves, rather than any flowers. It's one of my favorite drought-tolerant perennials for planting beneath sycamore trees, because its sprawling branches tend to "absorb" the sycamores' giant, fuzzy leaves. The straight species comes in gray, while Limelight bears pale chartreuse leaves.

Despite its name, the trademark scent can be elusive. While trimming, you may catch a pleasant puff of licorice.

Roll the leaves between your fingers for a stronger whiff. Dry and crush it for the strongest sniff.

The true nature of licorice fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza) is buried, as it's the fern's creeping rhizomes that taste of licorice.

The petite evergreen is native to the Pacific Northwest, where it grows about a foot tall among shady rocks, stumps and trees.

It's relatively drought tolerant, although if you withhold too much summer water, it may slip into dormancy.

Joan S. Bolton is a local free-lance writer and garden designer. Her In the Garden column appears biweekly. She can be contacted through her Web site, www.santabarbaragardens.com.