Illicium gansuense is a species of flowering plant in the family Schisandraceae. It is a tree with leathery leaves, red flowers, and brown seeds. The species is native to China, and was described in 2023.
Taxonomy The species was described in 2023, by Zengfu Bai and Xuelin Chen. It was discovered in Giant Panda National Park.
Distribution Illicium gansuense is native to the temperate biome of Gansu, China. It has been found growing near Trachycarpus fortunei, Camphora septentrionalis, Lindera aggregata, and Calamagrostis effusiflora, at an elevation of .
Description Illicium gansuense is a tree that grows high, and wide at breast height. The bark is greyish-brown, with irregular cracks. The branches are dense, and spread horizontally. The canopy is conical or tower-shaped. The whole plant is reported to have an aniseed-like aroma.
The leaves are oblanceolate, leathery, glossy, long, and wide. The leaves are clustered at the ends of twigs, in groups of two to five. The leaf stems are long.
The inflorescences have long stems. The inflorescences have a single flower, but the flowers may also be clustered in groups of two to six. The flowers grow on long stems.
The flowers are wide, and have ten to seventeen tepals, which have small hairs on the margins. The tepals are arranged in two or three whorls. The outer whorl has five to seven tepals, which are ovate, long, wide, and yellowish-green with red margins. The inner whorl has eight to ten tepals, which are ovate to elliptical, long, wide, fleshy, and red. The flowers have both male and female reproductive organs. They have ten to fourteen carpels, and twenty-three to twenty-seven stamens. The plant flowers from March to April.
The plant fruits from May to November. The seeds are smooth, ovoid, brown, long, wide, and thick.
Illicium gansuense is morphologically similar to Illicium ternstroemioides and Illicium arborescens.
Nomenclature Illicium gansuense is named for a province in eastern China. The describing authors suggested () as a Chinese name for the species.
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