The source is also known as star anise and anise. It is the fruit of Illicium VerumHook．f．, a plant of Magnoliaceae. Illicium verum is an evergreen tree with a height of10 ~15m. Bark is grayish green or reddish brown with irregular cracks. Simple leaves alternate or 3 ~ 6 leaves cluster at the top of branches; The petiole is about lcm long, the leaves are thick leathery, oblong or elliptic-ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 5 ~12 cm long, the apex is acuminate or acute, the base is narrowly wedge-shaped, entire, slightly involuted, dark green on the top, shiny and oily, and the bottom is light green and sparsely pilose. Flowers bisexual, solitary in leaf axils or near terminal, short pedicel, perianth segments 7 ~12, several rounds, imbricate arrangement, inner round pink to deep red. The fruits are mostly arranged in an octagonal aggregate fruit with a diameter of 3.5 ~ 4 cm and reddish brown or light brown. The fruit stalk is curved and hooked, with a length of 1 ~ 3 cm. Cultivated or wild.
Origin and distribution: Guangxi and Yunnan. In addition, it is also distributed in Guangdong and Fujian.
Identification points There are two points to be grasped in identifying the genuine star anise: "eight corners", "fragrant air and sweet taste". On the other hand, "more than eight corners" and "the smell is particularly pungent" are toxic star anise and cannot be taken.
Identification of famous works 1 Ming "Herbal Medicine": "Anise is harvested in the autumn moon. The shell is octagonal, and the child is hidden in the red. Chew it sweet. Li Shizhen said, "... the imported fennel is as big as cypress, split into eight petals, one petal and one nucleus, as big as a bean, yellow-brown, with benevolence and sweeter taste. The popular name is anise (also found in the caves around Guangxi), which is quite different from fennel in China, but has the same smell. , "3 Qing" Materia Medica Seeking Truth ":"I have different types according to the shape of fennel. According to the book. Words as big as wheat, light and thin edges are called anise, which comes from Ningxia (rarely found in the city). He who is small is called fennel. Since it was imported, the name of the eight petals is octagonal incense, and the anise used in this city belongs to octagonal. The fennel in Ningxia has not been seen. I chewed the anise carefully, although its fragrance is there, its taste is very sweet, and its nature is warm but not strong. 」
The rapid identification of Illicium verum consists of eight pods, which are radially arranged on the central axis, with a diameter of 3 ~ 4 cm and a width of 7 ~ 10 mm. The upper edge is cracked into a boat, the front end is blunt or blunt, and a seed is hidden. The outer surface is brown, with irregular wrinkles on the back, and the inner surface is smooth, reddish brown and shiny. The seeds are oblate, 8mm long and 5mm wide, with umbilicus and micropyle at one end, chalazal at the other end, long and narrow umbilicus in the middle, reddish brown or yellowish brown seed coat, smooth and shiny, crisp, white endosperm and rich in oil. Rich in flavor and sweet in taste.