Illicium

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Ordo: Austrobaileyales
Familia: Schisandraceae
Genus: Illicium
Species: I. angustisepalum – I. anisatum – I. arborescens – I. brevistylum – I. burmanicum – I. difengpi – I. dunnianum – I. floridanum – I. griffithii – I. henryi – I. jiadifengpi – I. lanceolatum – I. leiophyllum – I. macranthum – I. majus – I. merrillianum – I. micranthum – I. modestum – I. oligandrum – I. pachyphyllum – I. parviflorum – I. petelotii – I. philippinense – I. simonsii – I. tashiroi – I. ternstroemioides – I. tsaii – I. tsangii – I. verum – I. wardii
Name

Illicium L. (1759)

Type species: I. anisatum L.

Synonyms

Homotypic
Badianifera Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 1: 6. 1891.
Skimmi Adans., Fam. 2: 364. 1763.

Heterotypic
Cymbostemon Spach, Hist. Nat. Vég. Phan. 7: 444. 1839.

Note:

G. Hao & al. (2000) has shown that the earlier division into subgenera and sections is unnatural and therefore not used here. But two earlier systems have been proposed:

Smith (1947) and Imkhanitskaya (1993):

Illicium sect. Illicium (as sect. Badiana Spach by Smith)

Illicium subsect. Illicium
Illicium subsect. Parviflora Imkhan.

Illicium sect. Cymbostemon (Spach) A.C. Sm.

Law (1996):

Illicium subg. Illicium

Illicium sect. Illicium
Illicium sect. Impressicosta Y.W.Law & Q.Lin

Illicium subg. Cymbostemon (Spach) Y.W. Law & Q. Lin

References

Farr, E. R. & Zijlstra, G. eds. (1996-) Index Nominum Genericorum (Plantarum). 2009 Oct 01 [1].
Hao, G., R.M.K. Saunders, and M-L. Chye. 2000. A phylogenetic analysis of the Illiciaceae based on sequences of internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Plant Systematics and Evolution 223:81–90.
Imkanitskaya, N. 1993. The genus Illicium (Illiciaceae) in the flora of the Antilles. Botanitcheskiy Zhurnal 78:1–15.
Law, Y. 1996. Illicieae. In: Law Yuwu, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 30(1): 198–231, 271.
Linnaeus, C. 1759. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 1042, 1050, 1370.
Smith, A.C. 1947. The families Illiciaceae and Schisandraceae. Sargentia 7:1–224.

Vernacular names
dansk: Stjerneanis-slægten
Deutsch: Sternanis
English: Anise Tree
suomi: Tähtianikset
français: Badianier
հայերեն: Բադիան, աստղակերպ անիսոն
日本語: シキミ属
русский: Бадьян, или Иллициум
Tiếng Việt: Chi Hồi
中文: 八角

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]

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 liquor. Its fruit is a traditional Chinese medicine called bājiǎo huíxiāng (八角茴香), which is used to treat abdominal pain and vomiting.[5]
Diversity

Illicium is a notably difficult genus to taxonomically classify. Many of the currently recognized species are lack distinguishing characters, and treatments tend to list many synonyms. Additionally, herbarium material is often poorly preserved or scarce.[8]

Species include
[9]

Illicium angustisepalum - S China
Illicium anisatum – Japan, South Korea, Taiwan
Illicium arborescens - Taiwan
Illicium brevistylum - Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan
Illicium burmanicum - Yunnan, Myanmar
Illicium cubense - Cuba
Illicium difengpi - Guangxi
Illicium dunnianum - S China
Illicium ekmanii
Illicium floridanum- United States (FL GA AL MS LA)[10]
Illicium griffithii - Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh
Illicium guajaibonense - Cuba
Illicium henryi - S China
Illicium hottense
Illicium jiadifengpi - S China
Illicium lanceolatum - S China
Illicium leiophyllum - Hong Kong
Illicium macranthum - Yunnan
Illicium majus - S China, Vietnam, Myanmar
Illicium merrillianum - Yunnan, Myanmar
Illicium micranthum - Yunnan
Illicium modestum - Yunnan
Illicium pachyphyllum - Guangxi
Illicium parviflorum – yellow anise - United States (FL GA SC)[11]
Illicium parvifolium
Illicium petelotii - Yunnan, Vietnam
Illicium philippinense - Philippines, Taiwan
Illicium ridleyanum
Illicium simonsii - S China, Assam, Myanmar
Illicium stapfii
Illicium sumatranum
Illicium tashiroi - Taiwan, Nansei-shoto
Illicium tenuifolium - Vietnam
Illicium ternstroemioides - Fujian, Hainan
Illicium tsaii - Yunnan
Illicium verum – star anise, Chinese star-anise, staranise tree - Guangxi
Illicium wardii - Yunnan, Myanmar

References

Illicium. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards. Illiciaceae Van Tiegh. 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.
Illicium. Flora of North America.
Illiciaceae. Flora of North America.
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.
"Illicium L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map, Illicium floridanum

Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map, Illicium parviflorum