Illicium
verum Hook. f.
Standardized Common
Name: Star Anise
Other Common Names: Chinese Anise,
Chinese Star Anise
Family: Illiciaceae or
Magnoliaceae
Taxonomy: The genus includes
about 34 to 42 species in Asia and the New World, with a center of diversity in
China. Illicium verum is native to China but is extinct in the wild and
exists only in cultivation.
Description: Tree, 4–10(–20) m
high, with gray bark. Leaves evergreen, leathery, alternate or clustered in
whorls, usually oblong-elliptical to obovate or oblanceolate, to 15 cm long;
apex variable, usually acuminate; base cuneate; blade glandular-dotted. Flowers
axillary, solitary, globose, 1–1.5 cm in diameter; tepals 7–12, spirally
arranged, the largest almost orbicular, initially whitish then turning pink to
purple; stamens 11–20, with short filaments; carpels 6–9(–15), separate. Fruit
an aggregate of (6–)8(–13) radiating follicles; follicles 12–20 mm long,
boat-shaped, dehiscing along upper edge, brown, 1-seeded; apex with short
straight beak; seed elliptical, brownish, glossy.
Parts
in Commerce:
Fruits
Identification:
- Fruit an
aggregate of woody follicles, usually 8, occasional individual fruits
6–13; in fresh fruit upright, after drying radiating outward from
receptacle, the dried fruit over 3 cm in diameter
- Pedicel over 2
cm long, curved near the fruit, with a small ring at the base
- Follicles
boat-shaped, 12–20 mm long, laterally compressed, often unequal in size
- Upper edge
dehiscing to expose single seed
- Apex of follicle
with short blunt straight beak, not sharply curved upward at the tip
- Outer surface
reddish-brown, slightly wrinkled; inner surface yellowish-brown, smooth,
glossy
- Seed elliptical,
7–9(–10) mm long, laterally compressed, reddish brown, smooth, glossy,
with oily kernel
- Odor and taste
aromatic, pleasant, similar to anise
Adulterants: A repeatedly
observed adulterant that poses a known safety hazard is I. anisatum L.
(Japanese anise), for which I. religiosum Sieb. & Zucc. is a
commonly used synonym. Despite the specific epithet, it is primarily used for
ornament and has toxic seeds that have been employed as fish poison. Each fruit
comprises 7–8 follicles. The apical beak is sharply curved upwards, and the
follicles may be slightly smaller than those of I. verum and have a
strongly wrinkled surface. The pedicel is straight, not curved near the fruit.
The taste is said to be aromatic but bitter and unpleasant, and the odor to
resemble that of sassafras, cloves or balsam.
Oh et al.’s recent examination of
seed anatomy provides potentially useful macroscopic and microscopic characters
as well. At the hilar end of the seed, the large depressed area of the hilum is
bordered, at one of the narrow ends, by a small raised structure called a
strophiole. The micropyle forms a curved slit, which is separated from the
hilum by the strophiole. In I. verum, the strophiole has a roughly
rectangular appearance, with a swelling at the long side facing the hilum. In I.
anisatum, the connections of the strophiole to the lateral sides of the
seed outside the hilum are narrow, leaving a central part that is hemispherical
(to rather triangular) in shape. The micropylar slit is crescent-shaped and
fairly broad in I. verum, but long and very narrow throughout in I.
anisatum. It must be noted that Oh et al.’s results were derived from
single individuals of each species; however, features of this type often do not
vary much within a species.
Youngken described microscopic and
simple chemical tests for distinguishing powdered material, which might also be
useful if the identity of whole material were doubtful. The powder of I.
verum heated in dilute potassium hydroxide (lye) was said to produce a
reddish color, to be contrasted with a yellowish-brown color in the case of I.
anisatum. Such a test should not be performed unless adequate ventilation
is ensured, as boiling lye produces toxic fumes.
References:
Bailey LH, Bailey EZ, revised and expanded by the
staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus Third: A Concise
Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. New York,
NY: Macmillan; 1976.
Evans WC. Trease and Evans’ Pharmacognosy, 14th ed. London: WB Saunders
Company Ltd.; 1996:266.
Greenish HG. Materia Medica. Jodhpur: Scientific Publishers (India); 1920
reprinted 1999:85–87.
Lin Q. Illiciaceae. In: Editorial Committee of the
Flora of Taiwan, eds. Flora of Taiwan, 2nd ed., vol. 2.
Taipei, Taiwan: Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan; 1996:427–432. [For I.
anisatum only.]
Oh I-C, Denk T, Friis EM. Evolution of Illicium
(Illiciaceae): Mapping morphological characters on the molecular tree. Plant
Syst Evol. 2003;240:175–209.
Wichtl M, ed. Herbal Drugs and
Phytopharmaceuticals, 3rd English
ed. Stuttgart: medpharm Scientific Publishers and Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press;
2004:45–47.
Youngken HW. Text-Book of Pharmacognosy, 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: The
Blakiston Company; 1943:302–304.
Figure 36. a, Illicium verum; b–c, I. anisatum fruit and
cross-section.
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