Licorice Root vs Star Anise

I have learned quite a bit about this topic over the past few days.
My body reacts badly to Star Anise, Anise, and Fennel. Worst case - vomiting blood. Best case - a few hives. Usually I wind up with some hives and vomiting shortly after ingesting it.
This has been an allergy or intolerance for at least 10 years, probably closer to 15.

Several years ago, though, I was drinking some herbal tea, and realized after the fact that it had licorice root in it.
I was nervous.
I thought I would be vomiting soon after.
That didn't happen, though.
I still steered clear of licorice root after that, thinking that it was related to anise, but always wondered why I would react to one and not the other.

Last night there was herbal tea at a backyard wedding (which was so kind for the host to have on-hand). Both herbal teas contained licorice root.
I was really craving a hot drink and the smell of the teas were inviting, so I decided to risk it. Then, after no reaction, I finally looked it up when I got home.

It turns out that licorice root is not even of the same family as star anise.
According to AskDifference.com, licorice root is from the
Glycyrrhiza glabra plant, which is considered a legume, and Anise is an entire species of plant, part of the Parsley family of plants.
The main distinction is that Anise (the plant), Star Anise (the fruit of a medium-sized evergreen tree), and Fennel (a plant species from the carrot family) all contain a specific organic compound called Anethole (also called Anise Camphor). This compound is what I seem to react to, as opposed to the flavour of black licorice or licorice root.

This is good news!
Anise has been relatively easy to avoid, overall, although it is making more of an appearance in the Western culinary world, and is most often used as a garnish for drinks in many high-end restaurants.
Indian cuisine is where it seems to be used the most... so I should probably avoid some Indian restaurants.
Licorice root is in some of my favourite herbal teas that I have previously avoided. Now I don't have to avoid them!
I also know, now, exactly what the issue is and what I truly need to avoid in the future.

Knowledge is power!
Haha