CHAP. I. > WINTERA’CEZ. ILLI‘CIUM. 257 
Spec. Char.. Petals 27—30, dark purple, outer ones oblong, inner ones lan- 
ceolate. (Don’s Mill.,i. p. 79.) est Florida. . Evergreen. Flowers of a 
dark reddish purple. April to June. 1766. Height 6 ft. 
Description. A compact, many-stemmed, bushy, ever- 
green, slow-growing shrub, attaining, in the neighbour- 
hood of London, the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft. or upwards, 
and flowering every year. The leaves -are oblong- 
lanceolate, quite entire, pointed at both extremities, 
smooth, shining, and, in common with the whole plant, 
have a rich reddish hue. The flowers are numerous, solitary, and terminal ; 
and bear some general resemblance to those of Calycanthus fldéridus. 
Geography, History, §c. Found in West Florida, on the banks of the 
river Mississippi, and in marshy places near the town of Pensacola, by 
Bartram, in 1766. At first this plant was kept in stoves and green-houses ; 
but some specimens were planted out in the open air, by Mr. Gordon, in 
his nursery at Mile End, where they remained above forty years, some- 
times without any protection at all, and at others with only a mat thrown 
over them, or a slight covering of peas haulm. They grew in a deep, dry, 
sandy soil, in a warm, situation, sheltered from the north-east and east, and 
open to the south. They were sold, with some other fine specimens, in 1834 
and 1835. The properties of this species are of a very decided kind. 
The leaves and the entire plant are strongly impregnated with a spicy aro- 
matic taste and smell, approaching to that of the seeds of the anise or 
coriander. The leaves, when bruised, smell strongly of anise, and may be 
distilled like the seeds of that plant. Though not used in medicine, there is 
little doubt, Professor Burnet observes, that the bark would answer the same 
purposes as that of canella, or sassafras. (Outlines, §c., ii. p. 836.) The soil 
in which this plant is generally grown is a light sandy loam; but Dumont 
observes that, after trying it in loam, both in the open air and under glass, he 
found the leaves assume a yellow hue. He then tried pure heath soil, and 
soon perceived that the leaves had resumed their deep green colour, and the 
entire plant had begun to grow vigorously. The manner in which the plant 
is propagated in the London nurseries is, generally, by forming stools of it in 
a cold-pit, and laying down the shoots, which require two years to root suf- 
ficiently to admit of their being separated from the parent plant; but it is 
sometimes propagated by cuttings both of the young and of the old wood. As 
soon as the layers are taken off, they are potted, and kept in a green-house or 
frame till wanted for final transplanting. The situation of such a shrub in a 
garden should be in a select spot, where it can only be compared with slow- 
growing plants like itself. Being an evergreen, and finishing its growth early 
in summer, it would take little harm by being covered with mats or fronds for 
several months, provided these were supported so as not to touch it, and they 
were occasionally opened on fine days, on the south side, to admit the sun and 
air, in order to dry up the damps generated within ; a covering of spruce fir 
branches would also form a very suitable protection. For a small conservatory 
where there is no means of heating, but from which the extreme cold is 
excluded, by covering the glasses with mats in severe weather, this, and other: 
species of Illfcium, would prove very suitable shrubs. Plants may be obtained, 
in the principal London nurseries, at from 2s. 6d. to 5s. each ; in the Bollwyller 
Nursery, at 4 francs; and in New York, at 1 dollar. They are always sold in 
pots, being so grown in order that they may be protected by a frame during 
winter. 
# 2. Ivui’cium ANisA‘trum L. The Anise Illicium. 
D7 
Synonymes. The Chinese Aniseed tree; Badiane de la Chine, and Anis étoilé, Fr.; ichter (true) 
Spec. Char. Petals 27—30, yellowish, outer ones oblong, inner ones linear 
UZ 
