IN EXTRA -TROPICAL COUNTRIES. 155 



Illicium anisatum, Linne. 



China and Japan. The Star Anis. An evergreen shrub or 

 small tree. The starry fruits used in medicine and as a condi- 

 ment. Their flavour is derived from a peculiar volatile oil with 

 anethol. This species and a few others deserve culture also 

 as ornamental bushes. 



Imperata arundinacea, Cyrillo. 



South Europe ; North Africa, South and East Asia, Australia. 

 The Lalong Grass of India. Almost a sugarcane in minia- 

 ture. Valuable for binding sand, especially in wet localities. 

 Difficult to eradicate. 



Indigofera Anil, Linne. 



Recorded as indigenous to West India, and as extending 

 naturally through continental America from Carolina to 

 Brazil. A shrub several feet high. Pods sickle-shaped, short, 

 compressed. One of the principal Indigo plants under culti- 

 vation both in the eastern and western hemispheres. Only in 

 the warmer parts of the temperate zone can we hope to pro- 

 duce indigo with remunerative success. But many of the 

 hardier species seem never yet to have been tested for 

 pigment. One hundred and fourteen have already been 

 recorded from extra-tropical Southern Africa alone. An 

 Indigofera of Georgia, said to be wild, perhaps I. Anil, 

 yields an excellent product. The pigment in all instances is 

 obtained by maceration of the foliage, aeration of the liquid, 

 and inspissation of the sediment. 



Indigofera argentea, Linne. (I. cmulea, Roxburgh.) 



Tropical and extra-tropical Northern Africa, Arabia, India, A 

 shrub several feet high, closely allied to I. Anil, and likewise 

 a good Indigo plant. 



Indigofera tinctoria, Linne*. 



Warmest parts of Asia, as far east as Japan ; recorded also 

 from tropical Africa and even Natal. A shrubby plant, attain- 

 ing a height of 6 feet. Pods straight, cylindrical, many- 

 seeded. Extensively cultivated in warm zones for indigo, and 

 probably hardy in warmer temperate regions. The plant is 

 frequently sold fresh by the grower to the factories. The 

 Indigo plant requires a rich friable soil, neither too moist nor 

 too dry. The seeds are sown in furrows about a foot apart, 

 and in hot damp climes the plant can be cut in about 

 two months, as soon as it begins to flower ; in six or eight 



