150 



NATURAL msrORY OF PLAINTS. 



(fig. 197), usually consists of eight follicles. /. Gnffithu,^ which 

 grows in India, is a species with very little aroma, closely analogous 

 to the preceding in all its characters, but with more numerous 

 carpels,'' and the leaves of the perianth more dissimilar, the outer 

 ones being far broader, thicker, and more rounded than the 

 inner ones, whose consistency is that of petals. 



Finally, 7. Jloridanum^ which is cultivated in our conservatories, 

 presents even more dissimilarity in its floral appendages. The 

 outer ones are large and of a whitish green/ as sepals often are, 

 while the middle ones, membranous and still broad, are of a very 

 deep purple, as are also the inner leaves, which become much narrower 

 and more elongated ; so that we here find three kinds of leaves in 

 the perianth. The stamens have a fleshy filament and a broader 

 connective, flattened like a racket or battledore. The carpels are as 

 numerous as in 7. Grijlfhii, and the summit of the receptacle also 

 I^rojects in the centre of the flower.^ 



Leaving aside all these unimportant difi'erences, all the members 

 of the genus Illicium, whether from North America," the Antilles,' 

 India, China, or Japan,® present a very large number of characters 



to decide whether these differences, especially in 

 cultivated plants. are sufficient to formtwospecics; 

 and, if the specific autonomy oi I.rdigios-um is not 

 very contestibic, it is very strange that K.r.MPFEB 

 (Aman. Exot., 880), wIkjsc minute exactitude is 

 well known, bavin}? only tbe Skimi before his 

 eyes, should have wrongly taken it to be the plant 

 of China or Corea (Kurat), vvliich produces the 

 Star-anise of commerce. At any rate, Siebold 

 and ZcccAUiM (/7. Japan., i. 5, t. 1) thought 

 he was wrong wlien they regarded as the only 

 true /. anUalum tbe plant spoken of by LoUHEluo 

 {Fl.Cochinch.{\l\){)) ,35:J)and ( J.f:i{TNKR{FKUCT., 

 i. 338, t. fi'J), and not tbe jjlant which De Can- 

 DOLLE referred Ui tiie same species {Pruclr., i. 

 77, n. 2) after Tiilndeuo and many others. 

 Hence they made of tbe Skimi a distinct species 

 under tbe imme of /. religiogum. However, we 

 have seen no otber species than tlicirs among all 

 the 8i)ccimens contained in tbe collections from 

 Japan, and esi)ecially in those preserved in tbe 

 Uoyal Herbarium of Leydun, and we sbail retain 

 /. anisatum and rtiii/iurum in one siH-'cies. (See 

 Adujuunia, viii. U.) 



' Hook. A. Tmoms., Fl. Ind., i. 7i. — Miehs, 

 Cuntrib., i. 113, n. 3. — Wau*., Ann., iv. 42. 

 'Ibis si)eciei» has alx)ut twenty-tlvo leuvctt in its 

 perianth. 



' From fifteen to twenty may Imj connU-d. 

 When mature tlicy spread borizoutully, and also 



dehisce by clefts with sharp etlges. Tlie apex 

 elongates into a small apiculus, erect or slightly 

 reHexed in the ripe fruit. They appear very 

 slightly aromatic. 



3 Ei.Lis, in Phil. Trans., Ix. (1779), 52-i, t. 

 12.— Lamk., Jllustr., t. 493, fig. 1.— G.«ktn., 

 Fnut., i. 339. — Bucnoz, PI. N(/itc. Decouv. 



(1771), t. xxviii.— ^o<. Maff., t. '439 Spacu, 



op. cit., 4-13.— A. GUAY, Gen. III., i. 56, t. 21.— 

 MiKKS, toe. cit., n. 4. To Spacu tliis species 

 constitutes the section Euillicium. 



* These outer leaves are also the shortest and 

 broadest. Within them are others of a purple 

 colour ; some broad, and the others, quite inside, 

 narrow and acute. If we wished to make a dis* 

 tinction, we should have to admit tbrei" stirts of 

 IMjrianth in this flower. Tbe stamens have a fila- 

 ment shorter than tbe anther, which is constructed 

 like that of /. iinisalum. There are from twelve 

 to twenty carpels. 



* This summit when adult is coveretl with fine 

 papillii', while in the other species of this genus 

 it is glabrous. 



•> iMi( iix., op. cit.. i. 326.— A. Guay, Ofn. III., 

 55.— CiiAPM., Fl. S. Unit. -Stat., 12. 



' (JuiSEB., Cat. PL Cull., 2. 



■ Hook. & TnoMS., Fl. Ltd., loc. ciV.— Siku. 

 k Ziac, loc. cit. — Walp., Rrp., i. 72 ; Ann., 

 iv. 12. 



