Illicium

Illicium is a genus of flowering plants treated as part of the family Schisandraceae,[1] or alternately as the sole genus of the Illiciaceae.[2] It has a disjunct distribution, with most species native to eastern Asia and several in parts of North America, including the southeastern United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean.[3] General common names include star anise[4] and anisetree.[1] The genus name comes from the Latin illicere ("to allure").[4]

anisetree
or star anise
fruits of star anise (Illicium verum)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Order: Austrobaileyales
Family: Schisandraceae
Genus: Illicium
L.
Type species
Illicium anisatum
Illicium floridanum
Illicium henryi
Illicium anisatum in Köhler's Medicinal Plants

Description

Illicium species are evergreen shrubs and small trees. The leaves are alternately arranged and borne on petioles. The blades are glandular and fragrant. The flowers are solitary. They have few to many tepals in two or three rows, the inner ones like petals and the outer ones often smaller and more like bracts. A few to many stamens and pistils are at the center. The fruit is an aggregate of follicles arranged in a star-shaped whorl. One seed is in each follicle, released when the follicle dehisces. The seed has a thick, oily endosperm.[5]

Biology

These are plants of moist understory, adapted to shady habitat, and some species are so sensitive to light that too much sunlight causes them significant stress, manifesting in chlorosis and necrosis of the leaves.[6]

Uses

Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants for their flowers, foliage, and fragrance, leading to the development of several cultivars.[7] Many taxa can only be grown in low-light situations.[6]

The essential oils of several species are used as flavorings and carminatives; however, the oils of I. anisatum and I. floridanum are toxic. I. verum, the common star anise, is used to flavor food and wine. Its fruit is a traditional Chinese medicine called pa-chio-hui-hsiang, which is used to treat abdominal pain and vomiting.[5]

Diversity
Species include
[8][9][10]
  1. Illicium angustisepalum - S China
  2. Illicium anisatum – Japan, South Korea, Taiwan
  3. Illicium arborescens - Taiwan
  4. Illicium brevistylum - Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan
  5. Illicium burmanicum - Yunnan, Myanmar
  6. Illicium cubense - Cuba
  7. Illicium difengpi - Guangxi
  8. Illicium dunnianum - S China
  9. Illicium floridanum- United States (FL GA AL MS LA)[11]
  10. Illicium griffithii - Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh
  11. Illicium guajaibonense - Cuba
  12. Illicium henryi - S China
  13. Illicium jiadifengpi - S China
  14. Illicium lanceolatum - S China
  15. Illicium leiophyllum - Hong Kong
  16. Illicium macranthum - Yunnan
  17. Illicium majus - S China, Vietnam, Myanmar
  18. Illicium merrillianum - Yunnan, Myanmar
  19. Illicium mexicanum - Veracruz
  20. Illicium micranthum - Yunnan
  21. Illicium modestum - Yunnan
  22. Illicium pachyphyllum - Guangxi
  23. Illicium parviflorum – yellow anise - United States (FL GA SC)[12]
  24. Illicium petelotii - Yunnan, Vietnam
  25. Illicium philippinense - Philippines, Taiwan
  26. Illicium simonsii - S China, Assam, Myanmar
  27. Illicium tashiroi - Taiwan, Nansei-shoto
  28. Illicium tenuifolium - Vietnam
  29. Illicium ternstroemioides - Fujian, Hainan
  30. Illicium tsaii - Yunnan
  31. Illicium verum – star anise, Chinese star-anise, staranise tree - Guangxi
  32. Illicium wardii - Yunnan, Myanmar
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References
  1. Illicium. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
  2. Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards. Illiciaceae Van Tiegh. The Families of Flowering Plants. Version: 19 August 2013.
  3. Oh, I. C., et al. (2003). Evolution of Illicium (Illiciaceae): mapping morphological characters on the molecular tree. Plant Systematics and Evolution 240(1-4), 175-209.
  4. Illicium. Flora of North America.
  5. Illiciaceae. Flora of North America.
  6. Griffin, J. J., et al. (2004). Photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, and carbohydrate content of Illicium taxa grown under varied irradiance. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 129(1), 46-53.
  7. Ashburn, D. Illicium belongs in Southern gardens. Archived 2013-09-08 at the Wayback Machine Cooperative Extension. North Carolina State University. 2006.
  8. The Plant List, search for Illicium
  9. GRIN Species Records of Illicium. Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)
  10. Tropicos.org, retrieved 3 September 2015
  11. Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map, Illicium floridanum
  12. Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map, Illicium parviflorum

Further reading
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