Illicium verum

Hook.fil. · species

image placeholder — illustration coming later

Plantae/Tracheophyta/Magnoliopsida/Austrobaileyales/Schisandraceae/Illicium

At a glance

Occurrence records356

Data sources14

Biological traits20

DNA specimens29

eDNA detections24

Sources14 archives

Databases and archives Illicium verum's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation21 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility356 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI24 eDNA detections↗

BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics29 specimens↗

dukesphytochemcompounds

FooDBThe Metabolomics Innovation Centrecompounds↗

LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗

NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗

GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗

Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗

CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗

GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗

PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype

On this page7 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements3 literature sources20 traits

Chemical compositionDukesPhytochem · FooDB · LOTUS · NPASS5 928 compounds

Occurrence & distributionGBIF356 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 1 countries24 detections

DNA & barcodingBOLD29 specimens

Genome at a glanceCCDB · GoaT12.2 Gbp

01Narrative

Illicium verum is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. A spice commonly called star anise, staranise, star anise seed, star aniseed, star of anise, Chinese star anise, or badian that closely resembles anise in flavor is obtained from the star-shaped pericarps of the fruit of I. verum which are harvested just before ripening. Star anise oil is a highly fragrant oil used in cooking, perfumery, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and skin creams. Until 2012, when they switched to using a bacterial source, Roche Pharmaceuticals used up to 90% of the world's annual star anise crop to produce shikimic acid, a chemical intermediate used in the synthesis of oseltamivir (Tamiflu).

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesWCVPGIFTTRY

Size & morphology4

Plant height15 m

Seed mass27.86 mg

⚠ sources differ — TRY: 27.86 mg · GIFT: 47.61 mg

Seed mass max87.1 mg

Seed mass min8.12 mg

Life cycle & reproduction3

Deciduousnessevergreen

Life formtree

Life spanperennial

Diet & foraging1

Parasiteindependent

Habitat & environment7

Aquaticterrestrial

Climatesubtropical

Climberself-supporting

Epiphyteterrestrial

Growth formtree

Mycorrhiza typearbuscular

Woodinesswoody

Physiology & chemistry5

Leaf n17.8 mg/g

Leaf p0.92 mg/g

Nitrogen fixingnon_nitrogen_fixer

Photosynthetic pathwayC3

Wood density579 mg/cm³

03Chemical composition5 928 compounds

Compounds documented for Illicium verum across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").

🍽 Used in cookingHerbs and Spices🌿 Tea

Compound class profile5 classes

Cinnamic acids and derivatives99

Aminoacids67

Glycerophospholipids57

Simple phenolic acids29

Purine nucleos(t)ides26

Documented compounds5 928 total

Tissue Source Quantified only

Compound	Amount	Source
EO	100,000 ppm	DukesPhytochem
TRANS-ANETHOLE	90,000 ppm	DukesPhytochem
17alpha-ethynylestradiol	10,000 mg/100g	FooDB
METHYL-CHAVICOL	6,500 ppm	DukesPhytochem
cis-Anethole	5,407.9 mg/100g	FooDB
LIMONENE	5,220 ppm	DukesPhytochem
CARYOPHYLLENE	3,600 ppm	DukesPhytochem

05DNA & barcoding29 specimens

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Illicium verum has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

DNA specimens29

Marker genes4

eDNA detections24

Countries1

Marker genes sequenced

★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.

★matK★rbcL★ITS★ITS2

plant barcodefungal barcode

06Genome at a glanceCCDB · GoaT

The complete instruction manual Illicium verum carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Genome size12 171 210 000 bp

Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).

BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb

FUNGUS0.04 Gb

INSECT0.25 Gb

HUMAN3.2 Gb

THIS GENOME Illicium verum12.17 Gb

WHEAT17 Gb

FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.

Chromosomes2n = 28 n = 14

Ploidy2× diploid · measured

Chromosome records28–282n range28median28mode4records

Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references

2n 284×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn75-78 +1

GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database — ↗

CCDB · ipcn-api-dl — Shen, B. l. 1990. Karyotype analysis of Illicium verum Hook. f. J. SouthW. Forest. Coll. 10(1): 56–59.

CCDB · book-ipcn75-78 — Ratter & Milne 1976

CCDB · eflora

Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources

diploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database

GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database

diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale

PloiDB · genus-scale — chromEvol; reliability=1.000 ↗

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type356 records

Wild obs. + sensor18

Museum / vouchered337

Cultivated / captive1

Origin

Native2

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO528 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy59% within 1 km

≤100 m 2≤1 km 8>10 km 7

17 georeferenced · 1 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor18

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy38% within 1 km

≤100 m 2≤1 km 1≤10 km 1>10 km 4

8 georeferenced · 329 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence337

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.

Coordinate accuracy

no georeferenced coordinates · 1 records without

Open the mapnot free-living1

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions26 of 49 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
Guilin, CN	88
Beijing, CN	58
Guangzhou, CN	34
Guangxi Institute of Traditional Medical and Pharmaceutical Scienceslocation not on record	21
Guangxi Agricultural Universitylocation not on record	11
nlocation not on record	10
Guangzhou, CN	10
Chengdu, CN	8
Saint Louis, US	7
Southwest Forestry Collegelocation not on record	6
Yangling, CN	6
Shanxi Universitylocation not on record	5
Beijing, CN	5
Yunnan Universitylocation not on record	4
Shanghai, CN	4
EMTCMlocation not on record	4
Institute for Agricultural Bacteriology and Fermentation Biologylocation not on record	3
Edinburgh, GB	3
Wuhan, CN	3
Peking Universitylocation not on record	2
Seoul, KR	2
Wuhan, CN	2
Bronx, US	2
Tianjin Natural History Museumlocation not on record	2
Nanjing, CN	2
Central China Normal Universitylocation not on record	2
Fujian Institute of Subtropical Botanylocation not on record	2
Herbarium of South China Botanical Gardenlocation not on record	2
TAIElocation not on record	2
Nanchong, CN	2
Chengdu, CN	2
Minia, EG	2
Nanjing, CN	1
Jiangxi Universitylocation not on record	1
South China Normal Universitylocation not on record	1
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record	1
Auckland, NZ	1
Guiyang, CN	1
黔东南州民族医药研究所标本室location not on record	1
Guiyang, CN	1
Guiyang, CN	1
San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record	1
CASlocation not on record	1
Columbia, US	1
SCAUlocation not on record	1
Chengdu, CN	1
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record	1
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (PUJ)location not on record	1
Awka, NG	1

49 institutions · 333 of 337 vouchered records shown · 4 without an institution code

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.

09Environmental DNA24 detections

Where the DNA of Illicium verum was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.

Signal

Detections DNA found24

Studies independent surveys1

Countries1

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 24 detections have coordinates

Open the map1 country0

Cultivated forest edges

How strong is each trace?

DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.

Modelled climatemodelled

−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C

Temperature median23.8 °C 17.4–24.5

Seasonal swing summer↔winter17.7 °C

Max temp (day)26.2 °C 20.0–27.3

Min temp (night)19.9 °C 13.5–20.2

Precipitation364 mm/mo 267–375

Air humidity69.5 % 67.8–70.2

Moisture balance243 mm/mo 116–276

Vapour deficit896 Pa 602–993

Wind speed3.70 m/s 2.40–3.70

Cloud cover50.5 % 49.8–53.2

CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 3 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche

How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.

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Illicium verum

At a glance

Sources14 archives

Size & morphology4

Life cycle & reproduction3

Diet & foraging1

Habitat & environment7

Physiology & chemistry5

Compound class profile5 classes

Documented compounds5 928 total

At a glance

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

Record type356 records

Origin

Range

Wildobservation + sensor

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

Wildobservation + sensor

Holding institutions26 of 49 geolocated

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

Signal

Where its DNA was found

How strong is each trace?

Modelled climatemodelled

Documented compounds5 928 total