326 FAMILY HERBAL. 



quite to the middle rib : there are some smaller 

 on the stalk, but few. The flowers are numerous : 

 they are red, and of the form of the flowers of thistles. 

 They grow out of a scaly and thorny head. The 

 seeds are winged with down. The root is 

 oblong. 



The root is used ; a strong infusion of it is ex- 

 cellent against the gravel, and is good also in the 

 jaundice. It opens obstructions, and works by 

 mine. 



Starry Headed Anise Tree. Anisum sld- 

 latum. 



A tall and very beautiful tree, native of the 

 East, and much esteemed there. The trunk is 

 covered with a thick bark : the branches arc 

 irregular and spreading. The leaves are very 

 large and beautiful ; they are composed each of 

 ten or twelve pair of others set on a common rib, 

 with an odd one at the end ; they are longish, 

 broad, serrated at the edges, and pointed at the 

 ends, and are of a beautiful pale green colour, 

 and of a fragrant smell when bruised, such as that 

 we perceive in the young leaves of the walnut 

 tree, but with a mixture of somewhat aromatic. 

 The flowers stand at the tops of the branches, on 

 divided pedicles ; they are white and very fra- 

 grant. The fruit is of a singular figure, of the 

 shape of a star, and of a woody substance ; it is 

 composed of five or more rays, and in each is a 

 single, smooth, brown seed. They have the smell 

 of aniseed, and thence have been called by the 

 name, for there is not the least resemblance be- 

 tween the plants which produce the two ; one 

 being a small herb, and the other a large and fine 

 tree. 



