Schisandraceae
- Related Topics:
- star anise
- Kadsura
- Illicium
- Schisandra
- magnolia vine
Schisandraceae, family of three genera and some 90 species of flowering plants of the primitive order Austrobaileyales. The family consists of mostly tropical and subtropical woody plants. All have radially symmetrical, mainly beetle-pollinated flowers that lack differentiation between the outer and inner floral whorls (sepals and petals). The family is botanically significant in having features showing characteristics of ancient gymnosperm groups, such as wood with primitive vessels (water-conducting cells). Schisandraceae and the former family Illiciaceae were previously placed in the order Illiciales, but the taxonomy of the group was revised by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group under the APG III system.
The genera Schisandra, with about 25 species, and Kadsura, with 22 species, are mostly climbing vines with separate male and female flowers that are often found on separate plants. The fruits produce one to five seeds each. A few species are occasionally cultivated as ornamentals—for example, the magnolia vine, or five-flavour berry (Schisandra chinensis), for its fragrant white or pink flowers and attractive fruits, and kadsura vine (Kadsura japonica), for its clusters of scarlet-coloured fruits.
The genus Illicium, with 42 species, was formerly placed in the now-defunct family Illiciaceae. It consists of shrubs and trees having evergreen, aromatic leaves and bisexual flowers, the inner petals of which grade gradually into stamens (male pollen-producing structures). The female portion of the flower consists of 7 to 15 carpels (ovule-bearing structures), usually in a single whorl. At maturity the flower produces a characteristic woody fruit composed of a ring of several joined podlike follicles, each of which splits open along one seam to release a single seed. The star anise (Illicium verum), named for this characteristic fruit, is a shrub, the dried fruits of which are the source of oil of star anise, a volatile, aromatic oil used for flavouring candies, liqueurs, and perfumes.
