Pimpinella anisum
Fam. Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
Ing. Anise
Br. Anis
Ted Anis
Sp. Anis
Description
The root is fittonante. The leaves, not very numerous and alternate, have a pronounced heterophyllia: those located at the base are usually roundish, toothed, lobed and endowed with a long petiole (which forms a small sheath towards the base); the intermediate ones are trifoliate, toothed; the cauline ones are finely engraved, feathery and with a shorter petiole. The anise flowers are small, white-yellowish in color and arranged in umbrella-shaped inflorescences with 8-12 rays; the calyx is reduced to 5 teeth, the corolla, attinomorphic, has five petals; stamens 5 and bilocular inferior ovary. The flowering period is full summer. The fruit is a schizocarp, formed by two ovoid achenes covered with stiff bristle hairs and endowed with numerous oil sacks. Anise has a sweet and spicy taste. The aroma of the plant is pleasant.
Areal
The green anise is a plant native to the East, it is cultivated in most of the European territory, in Asia Minor, India, North Africa, territories of the former Soviet Union and Mexico. As far as Italy is concerned, green anise grows spontaneously in Sicily and crops are concentrated mainly in Emilia and Tuscany.
The anise prefers light and fertile, well-worked and well-drained soils, while it fears the clayey or moist ones. Also important is a well-sunny and sheltered from the wind exposure.
Culture
Sowing of anise is carried out on well-prepared soil in March-April; in fact, the species fears late frosts and needs at least 120 days of environmental conditions in which frosts do not occur. The anise seed takes about 30 days to germinate, but the vegetative growth continues very quickly after the first leaves are released. Other typical characteristics of the seeds of this plant are the rapid loss of germination and the greater germination energy of larger seeds; for which it is necessary that the seeds are recent and that they come from the central umbrella of the plant.
In the case of an excessive density of the crop, when the plants have reached a height of about 10 cm, one should intervene with thinning; transplants should be avoided because they are not well tolerated; afterwards it will be enough to weed the ground to avoid the growth of the weeds, and irrigate it if necessary.
Anise takes advantage of the richness of calcium in the soil. When sowing, localized phosphorus and potassium is not recommended, as the crop appears to be negatively affected. A final aspect of the cultivation technique concerns the possibility of associating our herbaceous plant with biennial plants, such as "carvi". The two species are sown, in alternate rows, simultaneously in spring: the first year the production of anise will be obtained, the second that of carvi.
Adversity
Among the adversities of the crop, in addition to adverse meteorological phenomena, such as frost, a prominent place is occupied by fungal parasites that damage the leaves and / or attack the fruits. Once in the store the green anise can be damaged by a beetle. However, these parasites do not cause damage such as to require protection measures.
Drug
They are the fruits, which ripen between August and September, according to the place of cultivation and the seasonal trend; they must be collected by cutting off the stems of the plants at the base when the seeds are not yet fully ripe, ie when the umbels are taking on a greenish-gray color and the seeds are still hard. The umbrellas must then be exposed to the sun for complete ripening and for the seeds to come out. The seeds are kept in boxes with good closure after being dried in the sun.
The essential oil contained mainly in the fruit consists of about 80% of anethole; it is colorless or has slight yellowish shades. The extraction takes place by steam distillation. In addition to essential oil there are also proteins, sugars, fatty acids, starch, caffeic and chlorogenic acids.
Anise fruits on the market can be classified as follows:
Anise of Italy, of Spain and of Malta ; they are the best with medium-sized, green-ash-colored fruits; v Anbi d'Albi or French with medium-sized, green-white-colored fruits with a very pronounced aroma;
Tunisia anise with sweeter green fruits;
Russian anise with small fruits, blackish, little researched
uses
In dietetics: anise is used to flavor many liqueurs; its seeds, whole or chopped, add flavor to bread, buns and desserts. In phytotherapy it is a regulator of digestion, antispasmodic and carminative, it is also sudorific and expectorant. In addition to sedative properties, it presents others, less known but widely tested, such as that of increasing milky flow while exerting its sedative action on the infant; or that of anticipating the delayed menstrual cycle. Chewing lightly toasted anise seeds at the end of the meal serves as a digestive and perfumes the breath. In folk medicine it was considered an aphrodisiac.
