Illicium

The genus Illicium L., 1759 comprises 45 species of aromatic trees or shrubs and belongs to the Schisandraceae family. The type species is I. anisatum L., 1759.

Description

With the general characters of the Schisandraceae family.

• Small trees or bushes, reaching up to 15 m.
• Alternate leaves, spiraling, often grouped at the ends of the branches or subverticiladas, of whole edge, pinnatinervia, without stipules
• Perfect flowers, actinomorphs, small, white, yellow or purple, solitary, axillary, or supraaxillary, seldom lateral and below the leaves or caulogens. Clothes (7-)12-30(-33), imbricated. 4-40(-50), free, sometimes glandular connective, intro-latrorous antennas. Folds (5-)7-15(-21), on a verticil, stigma on the ventral edge of the style. Ovulo 1 per carpel, almost basal ventral insertion
• Composite fruit (infrutescence); each dehiscent fruit (ventrally) in follicle, with a shiny seed
  

  Fruit of I. verum
  .
• chromosomal number: n = 13, 14; 2n = 28

Ecology

Entomogamous pollination, mainly carried out by diptera, attracted by the smell of the flowers similar to fish, in the case of I. floridanum.

Uses

The species with the greatest economic interest is the badian, whose fruit, called star anise, badian or Chinese badian, Illicium verum, flavored with anise, due to the presence of anethole, are used as seasoning and infusion, to treat flatulence in infants (carminative) and poor digestion (eupeptic).

Other species, however, are toxic because they contain poisonous alkaloids. This is the case of an irregular substitute for the previous one, Japanese star anise, Japanese badian or shikkimi (Illicium anisatum), whose pure consumption or mixed with the previous one causes poisoning, because it contains sikamin, acid sikimic, sikimipicrin and the toxic alkaloids shikimine and shikimotoxin, neurotoxic. Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, convulsions, eye twitching (nystagmus), and irritability alternating with drowsiness, seen in infants. The kidneys, urinary tract, digestive organs, and nervous system can be severely affected. Shikimic acid is the base substance in obtaining the antiviral Oseltamivir.

Some species of Illicum are used in gardens, for example Illicum anisatum, Illicum floridanum.

Distribution

The genus is distributed throughout southeast Asia, the southeastern United States, eastern Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

Synonymies

• Skimmi Kaempf. ex Adans., 1763 (The name of Kaempfer was published in 1712 and therefore cannot be used).
• Badianifera L. ex Kuntze, 1891

Specific taxa included

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, Burma
6. Illicium cubense - Cuba
7. Illicium difengpi - Guangxi.
8. Illicium dunnianum - S China
9. Illicium floridanum- USA. U.S. (FL GA AL MS LA)
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, Burma
18. Illicium merrillianum - Yunnan, Burma
19. Illicium mexicanum - Veracruz
20. Illicium micranthum - Yunnan
21. Illicium modestum - Yunnan
22. Illicium pachyphyllum - Guangxi.
23. Illicium parviflorum USA. U.S. (FL GA SC)
24. Illicium petelotii - Yunnan, Vietnam
25. Illicium philippinense - Philippines, Taiwan
26. Illicium simonsii - S China, Assam, Burma
27. Illicium tashiroi - Taiwan, Nansei-shoto
28. Illicium tenuifolium - Vietnam.
29. Illicium ternstroemioides - Fujian, Hainan
30. Illicium tsaii - Yunnan
31. Illicium verum - Guangxi.
32. Illicium wardii - Yunnan, Burma