March , 1842. Dr. Siebold has determined that there are 

 two species, one the I. Anisalum of Loureiro, the Chinese 

 kind ; and the other that here figured, the " Fanna Skimmi 

 vel x«T i&xvv Fanna, i. e. Flos dicta," of K^smpfer's Amaeni- 

 tates Exoticae. It would appear that the two have been 

 confounded by most authors, and that Loureiro's name of 

 Anisatum has been incorrectly given to the Japan kind. 

 By the Japanese this plant is held sacred ; they strew wreaths 

 of it and branches over the tombs of their friends, and their 

 priests burn the bark as a perfume upon the altars of their 

 deities. A singular use is made of the pulverized bark by 

 the public watchmen. Hollow tubes, graduated on the 

 outside, are filled with this substance, which is lighted at 

 one extremity, and burns gradually and uniformly : so that 

 when the fire has reached a certain mark, the watchmen 

 strike the hour upon a bell, and thus announce it to the 

 public. 



Descr. K^mpfer speaks of the trunk as attaining to the 

 height of a Cherry-tree : while our flowering plant is not 

 more than three feet high. It has rounded, glabrous stems 

 and branches: the latter, in their younger state, green, 

 more or less spotted with brown. Leaves alternate, ellip- 

 tical, coriaceous, entire, acute at both extremities, and 

 shortly petiolated ; palish green, penninerved, but the 

 nerves are scarcely visible beneath. Flowers from the 

 axils of the leaves, solitary, or two together. Peduncle 

 short, issuing from a scaly bud. Flowers yellow green, 

 destitute of fragrance. Petals numerous, linear, the inner- 

 most ones very narrow. Stamens about twenty. Filaments 

 short, dilated. 



Fig. 1 . Flower, from which the Calyx and Petals have been removed ; 

 the Peduncle surrounded by the scaly Bud : magnified. 



