ANISE. 157 



shrubby and perennial kinds are readily increased by cuttings. 

 The seeds of annual kinds should be reared in a hot-bed and 

 afterwards planted out. 



Anise and Star Anise. 



The fruit of Pimpinella Anisuin, Lin., is known as " Aniseed " ; 

 " Alicante Aniseed," " German Aniseed," and " Eussian Aniseed." 

 The Alicante variety is the best* The umbelliferous plant pro- 

 ducing it is indigenous to Asia Minor and Egypt and is cultivated 

 in Spain, Malta, Greece, Southern Eussia, Chili, India, and such 

 parts of Europe w^here the climate is sufficiently warm to mature 

 the fruit, but not in England. It is a low annual with many of 

 the usual characters of the order, and has cordate, divided radical 

 leaves and biternate cauline leaves. The umbels are many-rayed 

 and have no involucres. The fruits have generally entire 

 cremocarps about 2-tenths of an inch long, on slender pedicels, and 

 crowned by a pair of short styles. The fruit is ovoid, greenish 

 brown, and has 10 pale-coloured ridges, giving it a prismatic 

 appearance ; all the surface is covered with minute hairs. 



The Eussian fruits are smaller than those of the other varieties 

 and have some resemblance to Hemlock fruits {conium maculatum), 

 with which they sometimes get mixed by mistake ; the two should 

 therefore be compared. The anise is readily distinguished by the 

 ridges not being wavy, by having an abundance of vitt^e, by their 

 hairy surface, agreeable aromatic odour, united mericarps and 

 persistent pedicel. {Conia, the volatile poisonous alkaloid contained 

 in hemlock has an odour resembling that of mice.) 



A sample of aniseed recently examined by an analyst in Holland 

 was found to contain 2 J per cent, of seeds of Conium maculatum, 

 55 per cent, of fennel seed, and 10|- per cent, of the seeds of a 

 grass (Fanicum). Consequently this lot of aniseed was declared 

 unsafe for use, was seized by the authorities and destroyed.f 

 AYeynton, in a Paper on " The Commercial products of Siam," read 

 before the East India Association on the 7th April, 1887, says : — 



* Pereira, Mat., Med., ii. pt., ii. p., 162; Pharniacographia, p. 277. 

 Bentley and Trimen Med. plant, t. 122. AYoodville, Med. Bot. t. 52. Steven- 

 son and Churchill Med. Bot. t. 156. 



t British and Colonial Druggist, xxii., p. 275. 



