238 Select Plants for Industrial Culture and 



Illicium verum, J. Hooker. 



Sontliern-Cliina. The Star- Anise. An evergreen shrub or small 

 tree. The starry fruits used in medicine and as a condiment. 

 Their flavour is derived from a peculiar volatile oil with anethol ; 

 this essential oil is in use for a particular liqueur. It has only 

 now been placed beyond doubt, that it is this plant just specifically 

 defined which furnishes the Star- Anise. See Dyer's " Kew 

 Bulletin," July, 1888. 



Zllippe butyracea, F. v. Mueller. (Bassia butyracea, Roxburgh). 



India, up to 4,500 feet. A tree, gaining a height of 50 feet. The 

 pulp of the fruit is edible. The seeds yield a white soft fat, of 

 pleasant smell, used in the making of pomades, ointments, superior 

 soap and candles. 



Zllippe latifolia, F. v. Mueller.* (Bassia latifolia, Roxburgh.) 



The " Mahwa." Central India, extending to Ava, ascending to 

 4,000 feet [J. Hooker]. A tree to 50 feet high, content with dry, 

 stony ground ; enduring slight frost. Wood so tough as to be 

 adapted for ploughs and various machinery [Dr. Schlich]. The 

 succulent corolla affords a never-failing crop of nourishing sacchar- 

 ine food to the rural inhabitants. Each tree supplies 2 to 3 cwt. ; 

 each hundredweight yields on distillation about 3 gallons of 

 spirits ; essential oil is also obtained from the corolla. The flowers 

 are also used for feeding cattle ; they will keep for a long time. 

 The seeds yield oil of thick consistence. I. neriifolia is an allied 

 species, which ascends also to 4,000 feet. I. Erskineana and I. 

 Maclayana (F. v. M.), as well as I. Cocco (Scheffer) furnish good 

 edible fruits in New Guinea, where these trees ascend to some 

 distance in the mountain-regions. 



Imperata arundlnacea, Cyrillo. 



South-Europe, North-Africa, Southern and Eastern Asia, Aus- 

 tralia, Polynesia. The Lalang-grass of India. Almost a sugar- 

 cane in miniature. Valuable for binding sand, especially in wet 

 localities. Difficult to eradicate. Available also for thatching. 

 Apt to become irrpressible in cultivation-grounds. Browsed on by 

 pasture-animals, though harsh. 



Xndlgrofera Anil, Linne.* 



Recorded as indigenous to the West-Indies, and extending spon- 

 taneously through continental America from Carolina to Brazil. 

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

 One of the principal indigo-plants under cultivation, both in the 

 eastern and the western hemisphere. Only in the warmer parts of 

 the temperate zone can we hope to produce indigo with remunera- 

 tive success. But many of the hardier species seem never yet to 



