'*'"'aIIJ"  i88i™'  }    Illicium  Religiosum  and  III.  Anisatum.  41 
perhaps  also  on  the  ground  that  as  a  poisonous  plant  it  has  the  reputed 
power  to  keep  insects,  etc.,  at  a  distance  from  the  dead. 
The  powder  of  the  bark  and  leaves  also  is  used  in  long  thin  cylin- 
drical pastilles  {''sen-ko")  as  incense  in  the  Buddhist  temples  and  in 
religious  services.  Formerly  such  straight  or  circularly  bent  cylin- 
ders, which  when  lighted  burned  regularly,  were  used  as  time  mea- 
sures. 
The  plant  grows  wild  now  in  Japan  everywhere,  on  the  mountains 
and  in  the  valleys.  It  was  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nagasaki 
(Oldham),  in  the  centre  of  Nij)pon,  near  Tokio  (Thunberg),  upon  the 
Iwaya  mountains  (Siebold),  near  Yokosuka  (Savatier),  in  large  quan- 
tities upon  the  island  of  Hachijo,  in  the  province  of  Izu  (Iwasaki 
Jose),  and  in  the  provinces  of  Sagami,  Enshu,  Tamba,  Musashi, 
Hizen,  Chozhu,  etc. 
The  plant  attains  a  height  of  from  6  to  20  feet.  The  leaves  are 
shortly  (about  1  centimeter)  petioled,  coriaceous,  thick,  feel  waxy  to 
the  touch,  evergreen,  oblong  or  oblong  obovate,  acuminate,  cuneate  at 
the  base,  entire  at  the  margins,  free  from  hairs  (like  the  whole  plant), 
about  7  centimeters  long  and  3  to  4  centimeters  broad.  The  flowers 
open  in  the  spring,  about  April.  The  petals  are  greenish  or  very 
slightly  yellowish  white,  and  have  a  wax-like  appearance ;  they  are 
from  1  to  3  centimeters  long,  0*5  centimeter  broad,  and  12  to  20  in 
number.  The  stamens  are  15  to  20.  The  fruit  consists  of  about 
eight  carpels,  arranged  side  by  side  in  a  closed  circle,  which  attains  a 
diameter  of  2  to  3  centimeters  and  a  depth  of  0*5  centimeter.  Each 
carpel  has  on  the  upper  side  the  persistent  pistil.  In  the  unripe  con- 
dition the  fruit  is  green,  juicy,  and  contains  much  essential  oil.  When 
it  commences  to  ripen,  in  the  autumn,  the  carpel  rapidly  dries  up, 
especially  upon  the  dorsal  side,  shrivels,  and  becomes  a  red- brown 
color. 
When  ripe  the  fruit  opens  rapidly  lengthwise  along  the  upper  side. 
I  have  frequently  observed  that  the  yellow-brown  seeds,  which  are 
about  0*7  centimeter  long,  and  0  5  centimeter  broad,  provided  with  a 
hard  testa,  and  occur  one  in  a  carpel,  are  hurled  out  with  considerable 
force,  often  to  a  distance  of  three  or  four  meters. 
The  bark  of  the  tree  has,  as  usually  stated,  an  aromatic  smell  that  is 
not  disagreeable ;  the  fruit,  on  the  contrary,  has  a  less  agreeable  odor 
and  an  unpleasant  taste.  The  seed  kernel  tastes  sweetish.  The  leaves 
smell  like  the  essential  oil  present  in  them. 
