ILLICIACEAE
NB Synonym of Schisandraceae
Morphological description
Woody; non-climbing, aromatic.
Leaves
Leaves simple, crowded, entire, penninerved, exstipulate.
Inflorescence
Inflorescence.
Flowers
Flower bisexual, actinomorphic, perianth of several free overlapping members; stamens many.
Fruit
Fruit of several free carpels, each with 1 seed. Fruit usually star-shaped, ripening red, each carpel splitting open on top
Seed
Seed brown.
Different from: Magnoliaceae: stipulate, carpels not arranged in a star. — Theaceae (Ternstroemia): sepals and petals present, carpels not free.
Distribution: The single genus, Illicium, occurs in East Asia and North America; in Malesia it is limited to the West (Sumatra-Philippines.
Notes: The fruits of Illicium verum* (star anise) are used in cooking. The Malesian species occur in montane rain forest.
Literature: A.C. Smith, Sargentia 7 (1947) 1-79; F.S.P. Ng, Tree Fl. Mal. 2 (1977) 253-256; R.M.K. Saunders, Fl. Males. I, 13 (1997) 169-184.
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): 46, 59, 70.
Illustrations: Fig. 83. Illicium tenuifolium (Ridl.) A.C. Sm. (Courtesy FRIM, Kepong).
Image in PhytoImages for Schisandraceae