ABSTRACT
The genus Illicium belongs to the family Illiciaceae and is an evergreen shrub or tree. About 40 species have been disjunctively distributed in eastern North America, Mexico, the West Indies, and eastern Asia. The highest concentration of species is in northern Myanmar and southern China, where nearly 35 species have been described (Saunders, 1995). The genus is comparatively primitive and has close affinities with the Magnoliaceae. Therefore, Illicium was classified into the family Magnoliaceae in much of the early taxonomic literature (Torre et al., 1900) but was subsequently excluded from the Magnoliaceae by Smith on the basis of floral morphology and vegetative anatomy (Smith, 1947) and was assigned familial rank as the Illiciaceae.
