ILLI'CIUM RELIGIO'SUM. 
SACRED ANISEED TREE. 
Class. 
POLYANDRI A 
Order. 
POLYGYNIA. 
Natural Order. 
MAGNOLIACEiE. 
Native of 
Height. 
Flowers in 
Habit. 
Introduced 
Japan. 
3 feet. 
March. 
Shrub. 
in 1840? 
No. 1086. 
Illicium is a name formed from the Latin word 
illicio, to allure, and applied to this genus of plants, 
as indicative of their attractive aromatic fragrance. 
The English name. Aniseed Tree, is somewhat 
anomalous, inasmuch as the affinity of this tree 
with Aniseed, is confined to its spicy aroma. 
It has long been known, that one of the Illiciums 
was held sacred by the Japanese, but an error seems 
to have occurred respecting the species, for it would 
appear that the sacred Aniseed Tree has never, till 
lately, been introduced to Europe. To Dr. Siebold, 
the Japanese traveller, Europeans are now indebted 
for this acquisition, he having introduced it to 
Holland, and subsequently it was sent by Mr. Ma- 
koy, of Liege, to the Botanic Gardens at Kew. 
Thunberg. in his Flora Japonica, published 
many years ago, mentions the uses made of this 
tree by the Japanese, which have been related, over 
and over again, in various botanical works, and the 
tree has, consequently, excited more than common 
interest. He states that the Japanese place bun- 
dles and garlands of the Aniseed Tree in their 
temples, before their idols ; and on the tombs of 
