148 



DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



name referring to the inequality in the length of stalks of umbellets, or per- 

 haps to the unequal petals. Anise, the popular name, is a corruption of 

 anisani. 



History. — The anise was known to the ancients, and is mentioned by Dios- 

 corides, and described by Pliny, who says the best is brought from Crete and 

 from Egypt. It is one of the plants Charlemagne ordered his gardener to 

 cultivate in the royal gardens. It is one of the products carried into England 

 early in the fourteenth century, and upon which an impost duty was levied. 

 It was brought to North America about the middle of the seventeenth century 

 by European colonists, and is sometimes planted in gardens in the Middle 



States, but seldom fruits. 

 The anise named in the 

 New Testament is held 

 by some to be another 

 plant. 



Use. — The essential 

 oil of anise is obtained by 

 distillation from the seed. 

 It is used in medicine as 

 a stimulant and carmin- 

 ative, as a stomachic and 

 antispasmodic, and to 

 cover the disagreeable 

 taste of other medicines 

 in compounding reme- 

 dies such as paregoric, 

 cough mixtures, and 

 cordials. 



Rats and mice are very 

 fond of it, and it is used 

 by vermin-destroyers to 

 perfume their bait. The 

 sprigs are sometimes used to garnish dishes at the table, and as a condiment 

 for meats. In Germany and Middle Europe it is used to flavor bread, cakes, 

 and cheese. 



Note. —The fruit of the Illicium anisatum (Star Anise), a small evergreen 

 tree of the order Magnoliaceae, when distilled yields an oil identical in odor, 

 chemical analysis, and medicinal properties with the oil of pimpinella, for 

 which it is sometimes substituted. 



Pimpinella anisum (Anise). 



F(ENICULUM, Hoffm. Calyx limb indistinct. Petals roundish- 

 obovate, entire, truncate, involute. Cremocarps oblong or ellipsoid, 

 ovoid, not flattened. Columella 2-parted, the branches attached to 

 mericarps ; mericarps with 5 prominent obtusely keeled ridges, side 

 ones a little broader and marginal, a single oil-vessel in each space. 

 Flowers, small, deep yellow, not radiant. Umbels large and com- 

 pound, without involucres. Leaves decompound, with thread-like 

 segments. A biennial herb. 



1. F. vulgare, Gaert. (Fennel.) Stem erect, terete, thick, striate, smooth, 

 bright green, large pith, through the center of M^hich extends a small tube. 



