Illicium

Illicium
	Fruits of Illicium verum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Order:	Austrobaileyales
Family:	Schisandraceae
Genus:	Illicium; L.
Type species
	Illicium anisatum;
Synonyms
	Badianifera L. ex Kuntze ; Cymbostemon Spach ;

Illicium is a genus of flowering plants treated as part of the family Schisandraceae,^[2] or alternately as the sole genus of the Illiciaceae.^[3] 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.^[4] General common names include star anise^[5] and anisetree.^[2] The genus name comes from the Latin illicere ("to allure").^[5]

*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.^[6]

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.^[7]

Uses

Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants for their flowers, foliage, and fragrance, leading to the development of several cultivars.^[8] Many taxa can only be grown in low-light situations.^[7]

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 liquor. Its fruit is a traditional Chinese medicine called bājiǎo huíxiāng (八角茴香), which is used to treat abdominal pain and vomiting.^[6]

Diversity

Illicium is a notably difficult genus to taxonomically classify. Many of the currently recognized species lack distinguishing characters, and treatments tend to list many synonyms. Additionally, herbarium material is often poorly preserved or scarce.^[9]

As of August 2024^[update], Plants of the World Online accepted these species:^[1]

Illicium angustisepalum A.C.Sm. – South China
Illicium anisatum L. – Japan, South Korea, Taiwan
Illicium arborescens Hayata – Taiwan
Illicium brevistylum A.C.Sm. – China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan)
Illicium burmanicum E.H.Wilson – China (Yunnan), Myanmar
Illicium cubense A.C.Sm. – Cuba
Illicium difengpi B.N.Chang – Guangxi
Illicium dunnianum Tutcher – South China
Illicium ekmanii A.C.Sm. – Hispaniola
Illicium floridanum J.Ellis – United States (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana)^[10]
Illicium gansuense Z.F.Bai & Xue L.Chen – North China
Illicium griffithii Hook.f. & Thomson – Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh
Illicium guajaibonense (Imkhan.) Judd & J.R.Abbott – Cuba
Illicium henryi Diels – South China
Illicium hottense A.Guerrero, Judd & A.B.Morris – Haiti
Illicium jiadifengpi B.N.Chang – South China
Illicium lanceolatum A.C.Sm. – South China
Illicium leiophyllum A.C.Sm. – Hong Kong
Illicium macranthum A.C.Sm. – Yunnan
Illicium majus Hook.f. & Thomson – South China, Vietnam, Myanmar
Illicium merrillianum A.C.Sm. – Yunnan, Myanmar
Illicium micranthum Dunn – Yunnan
Illicium modestum A.C.Sm. – Yunnan
Illicium pachyphyllum A.C.Sm. – China (Guangxi)
Illicium parviflorum Michx. ex Vent. – yellow anise – United States (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina)^[11]
Illicium parvifolium Merr. – China, Vietnam
Illicium petelotii A.C.Sm. – Yunnan, Vietnam
Illicium philippinense Merr. – Philippines, Taiwan
Illicium ridleyanum A.C.Sm. – Peninsular Malaysia
Illicium simonsii Maxim. – South China, Assam, Myanmar
Illicium stapfii Merr. – Borneo
Illicium sumatranum A.C.Sm. – Sumatra
Illicium tashiroi Maxim. – Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands
Illicium tenuifolium (Ridl.) A.C.Sm. – Vietnam
Illicium ternstroemioides A.C.Sm. – China (Fujian, Hainan)
Illicium tsaii A.C.Sm. – Yunnan
Illicium verum Hook.f. – star anise, Chinese star-anise, staranise tree – Guangxi
Illicium viridiflorum Yahara, A.Nagah. & Tagane – Vietnam
Illicium wardii A.C.Sm. – Yunnan, Myanmar

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Illicium L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b Illicium. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
^ Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards. Illiciaceae Van Tiegh. Archived 2007-01-03 at the Wayback Machine The Families of Flowering Plants. Version: 19 August 2013.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Illicium. Flora of North America.
^ ^a ^b Illiciaceae. Flora of North America.
^ ^a ^b 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.
^ Ashburn, D. Illicium belongs in Southern gardens. Archived 2013-09-08 at the Wayback Machine Cooperative Extension. North Carolina State University. 2006.
^ Morris, Ashley B.; Bell, Charles D.; Clayton, Joshua W.; Judd, Walter S.; Soltis, Douglas E.; Soltis, Pamela S. (2007). "Phylogeny and Divergence Time Estimation in Illicium with Implications for New World Biogeography". Systematic Botany. 32 (2): 236–249. doi:10.1600/036364407781179734. S2CID 86383852.
^ Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map, Illicium floridanum
^ Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map, Illicium parviflorum