| | | Illicium tenuifolium (Ridl.) A.C. Sm., Sargentia, vii. 68 (1947), cum diescr. Emend. | | Illiciaceae | |
Description: Small tree to ca 10 m tall. Leaves in pseudowhorls of 3–6, elliptic or slightly obovate to lanceolate; 7–14 x 2–5.5 cm; apex long acuminate, base attenuate; petioles 0.5–1.5 cm long. Flowers solitary, axillary or sometimes on the trunk, bisexual; pedicels slender, to ca 5 cm long. Perianth 11–18, arranged in 2–3 series; lobes ovate to orbicular (outer), oblong to lanceolate (inner), free, imbricate, white to pale pink. Stamens 11–16. Gynoecium 5–8 carpels, arranged in a whorl; ovule 1 in each carpel. Fruits dry, dehiscent ventrally, ca 2 cm diam. | | | |
Distribution: Peninsular Malaysia and Peninsular Thailand, recorded from Hala–Bala, Yala, on hillsides in evergreen forest, 700–1,500 m.
Notes: A monogeneric with ca 40 species, 2 species have been recorded in Thailand. The unripe fruits of a Chinese species Illicium verum Hook. f., known as Star Anise, are the source of the culinary spice and a distilled oil used in medicine and in industry in China. Last updated on 7 December 2016. | |
Thai name: Poi kak pa (โป๊ยกั๊กป่า). | |
Photos: Rachun Pooma (Hala-Bala, Yala) | |
References:
| Ng, F.S.P. 1973. Illiciaceae. In Whitmore (ed.) Tree Flora of Malaya Vol. 2: 253–256. | | Keng, H. 1972. Illiciaceae. In T. Smitinad & K. Larsen (eds.) Flora of Thailand Vol. 2: 115–116. |
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