Illicium - Anise tree

Illicium (Anise-tree, Anise tree) is a genus of flowering plants containing 42 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees, and is the sole genus in family Illiciaceae. The species are native to the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern and southeastern Asia, southeastern North America, and the West Indies.


USES
The fruits of Illicium verum are known as star anise, and are used as a seasoning in Chinese and southeast-Asian cooking. Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum) is used in Japan to produce incense, but its fruits are toxic if ingested.


Selected species
Illicium ternstroemioides is a species of plant in the Illiciaceae family. It is found in China and Vietnam.

Illicium anisatum - The Japanese star anise is a tree similar to Chinese star anise. It is highly toxic, therefore it is not edible; instead, it has been burned as incense in Japan, where it is known as shikimi. Cases of illness, including "serious neurological effects, such as seizures", reported after using star anise tea may be a result of using this species.
Illicium anisatum is native to Japan. It is similar to I. verum, but its fruit is smaller and with weaker odor, which is said to be more similar to cardamom than to anise. While it is poisonous and therefore unsuitable for using internally, in Chinese medicine it is used for treatment of some skin problems.
Japanese star anise contains anisatin, shikimin and sikimitoxin, which cause severe inflammation of the kidneys, urinary tract and digestive organs. Other compounds present in toxic species of Illicium are safrole and eugenol, which are not present in I. verum and are used to identify its adulteration.

Illicium floridanum (also known as purple anise, Florida anise, stink-bush, or star-anise) is an evergreen shrub native to the south-eastern United states especially Florida and Louisiana.
It is a close relative of the Chinese star anise but it is not edible.
The flowers are a very distinctive deep carmine red or maroon with narrow widely separated petals. The whole plant and especially the flowers have a distinctive fishy smell although the crushed foliage smells more like aniseed.

Illicium verum - Star anise, star aniseed, badiane or Chinese star anise, is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of Illicium verum, a small native evergreen tree of southwest China. The star shaped fruits are harvested just before ripening. It is widely used in Chinese cuisine, in Indian cuisine where it is a major component of garam masala, and in Malay/Indonesian cuisine. It is widely grown for commercial use in China, India, and most other countries in Asia. Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional five-spice powder of Chinese cooking.
Star anise contains anethole, the same ingredient which gives the unrelated anise its flavor. Recently, star anise has come into use in the West as a less expensive substitute for anise in baking as well as in liquor production, most distinctively in the production of the liquor Galliano. It is also used in the production of Sambuca, pastis, and many types of absinthe.
Star anise has been used in a tea as a remedy for colic and rheumatism, and the seeds are sometimes chewed after meals to aid digestion.

Illicium mexicanum

Illicium henryi

Illicium arborescens

Illicium parviflorum (Yellow Anise)

Illicium lanceolatum

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