
Silphium (also known as ''laserwort'' or ''laser'';
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
: , ) is an unidentified plant that was used in
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
as a seasoning, perfume,
aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases libido, sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. These substances range from a variety of plants, spices, and foods to synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs, such as ...
, and medicine.
It was an essential item of trade from the ancient North African city of
Cyrene and was so critical to the Cyrenian economy that most of their
coin
A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
s bore an image of the plant. The valuable product was the plant's
resin
A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...
, called in Latin ''
laserpicium'', ''lasarpicium'' or ''laser'' (the words ''
Laserpitium'' and ''
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
'' were used by botanists to name
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
of aromatic plants, but the silphium plant is not believed to belong to these genera).
The exact identity of silphium is unclear. It was claimed to have become extinct in Roman times.
It is commonly believed to be a relative of
giant fennel
''Ferula communis'', the giant fennel, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. It is related to the common fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare''), which belongs to the same family.
''Ferula communis'' is a tall herbaceous peren ...
in the
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''
Ferula
''Ferula'' (from Latin ''ferula'' ) is a genus of about 220 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia, mostly growing in arid climates. Many plants of this genus, especially '' F ...
''.
[''Did the ancient Romans use a natural herb for birth control?''](_blank)
, The Straight Dope
''The Straight Dope'' was a question-and-answer newspaper column written under the pseudonym Cecil Adams. Contributions were made by multiple authors, and it was illustrated (also pseudonymously) by Slug Signorino. It was first published in 197 ...
, October 13, 2006 The extant plant ''
Thapsia gummifera''
has been suggested as another possibility. Another theory is that it was simply a high quality variety of
asafoetida
Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (Natural gum, gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, Central As ...
, a common spice in the Roman Empire. The two spices were considered the same by many Romans including the geographer
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
.
Silphium was considered invaluable by all who held it. The BBC reports that the plant was sung about by Roman poets and singers, who considered it equivalent to its weight in gold.
Historically,
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
blamed silphium's valuation on "tax-farmers," and Julius Caesar directly registered silphium as "1500 pounds of laser" in the Roman treasury.
Identity and extinction
The identity of silphium is highly debated. Without a surviving sample, no genetic analysis can be made. It is generally considered to belong to the genus ''
Ferula
''Ferula'' (from Latin ''ferula'' ) is a genus of about 220 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia, mostly growing in arid climates. Many plants of this genus, especially '' F ...
'' as an extinct or living species. The extant plants ''
Thapsia gummifera'',
''
Ferula tingitana
''Ferula tingitana'', the giant Tangier fennel, is a species of the Apiaceae genus ''Ferula''. Despite the name, the plant is not a type of fennel proper, which belongs to another genus ('' Foeniculum'').
''Ferula tingitana'' is a tall perennia ...
'', ''
Ferula narthex
''Ferula narthex'' is a species of plant native to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, northern Pakistan and Kashmir. Hugh Falconer noted that this was the source of asafoetida in Central Asia. Although it is often listed as the source of asafoetida, one re ...
'', ''
Ferula drudeana
''Ferula drudeana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Central Taurus Mountains area of Turkey. It has been proposed as a candidate for the possibly extinct silphium plant of antiquity. It is known from only t ...
'', and ''
Thapsia garganica
''Thapsia garganica'', the italian thapsia, deadly carrots, or drias plant, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae. It is a perennial native to the Mediterranean Basin, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Al ...
'' have been suggested as possible identities.
''
Ferula drudeana
''Ferula drudeana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Central Taurus Mountains area of Turkey. It has been proposed as a candidate for the possibly extinct silphium plant of antiquity. It is known from only t ...
'', an endemic species found in Turkey, is a candidate for silphium based on appearance from descriptions and on its production of a spice-like gum-resin with supposedly similar properties to silphium.
However, ''F. drudeana'' belongs to a lineage from the southern Caspian Sea region with no known connection to Eastern Libya.
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...
mentioned silphium as having thick roots covered in black bark, about one
cubit
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...
(48 cm) long, with a hollow stalk, similar to
fennel
Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...
, and golden leaves like those of celery.

The disappearance of silphium is considered the first extinction of a plant or animal species in recorded history. The cause of silphium's supposed extinction is not entirely known but numerous factors are suggested. Silphium had a remarkably narrow native range, about , in the southern steppe of
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...
(present-day eastern
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
).
Overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...
combined with
overharvesting
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...
have long been cited as the primary factors that led to its extinction.
[Pliny]
XIX, Ch.15
However, recent research has challenged this notion, arguing instead that
desertification
Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities.
The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...
in ancient Cyrenaica was the primary driver of silphium's decline.
Another theory is that when
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
provincial governors took over power from Greek colonists, they over-farmed silphium and rendered the soil unable to yield the type that was said to be of such medicinal value.
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...
wrote in
''Enquiry into Plants'' that the type of ''Ferula'' specifically referred to as "silphium" was odd in that it could not be
cultivated. He reports inconsistencies in the information he received about this, however. This could suggest the plant is similarly sensitive to soil chemistry as
huckleberries
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''.
Nomenclature
The name 'huckleberry' is a North American variation of the English dialectal ...
which, when grown from seed, are devoid of fruit.
Similar to the soil theory, another theory holds that the plant was a
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
, which often results in very desired traits in the
first generation, but
second-generation can yield very unpredictable outcomes. This could have resulted in plants without fruits, when planted from seeds, instead of asexually reproducing through their roots.
Pliny reported that the last known stalk of silphium found in Cyrenaica was given to Emperor
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
"as a curiosity".
Ancient medicine
Many medical uses were ascribed to the plant.
[Pliny]
XXII, Ch. 49
It was said that it could be used to treat cough, sore throat,
fever
Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
, indigestion, aches and pains,
warts
Warts are non-cancerous viral growths usually occurring on the hands and feet but which can also affect other locations, such as the genitals or face. One or many warts may appear. They are distinguished from cancerous tumors as they are caus ...
, and all kinds of maladies.
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Kos (; ; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician and philosopher of the Classical Greece, classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is traditionally referr ...
wrote:
When the gut protrudes and will not remain in its place, scrape the finest and most compact silphium into small pieces and apply as a cataplasm.
The plant may also have functioned as a
contraceptive
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
and
abortifacient
An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: '' abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...
.
Culinary uses
Silphium was used in Graeco-Roman cooking, notably in recipes presented in
Apicius
''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking''), is a collection of Food and dining in the Roman Empire, Roman cookery recipes, which may have been compiled in the fifth century CE, or ea ...
. Some historians have suggested that its use, particularly in the North African region of its origin, was extensive:
Not quite as ubiquitous as liquamen, but just as necessary in the Roman kitchen, was the herb silphium...Life in Cyrenaica revolved around ilphiumto such an extent that the dramatist Antiphanes, in the fourth century BC, made one of his characters groan: "I will not sail back to the place from which we were all carried away, for I want to say goodbye to all—horses, silphium, chariots, silphium stalks, steeple-chasers, silphium leaves, and silphium juice!"
Long after its claimed extinction, silphium continued to be mentioned in lists of aromatics copied one from another, until it makes perhaps its last appearance in the list of spices that the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
cook should have at hand— ("A short list of condiments that should be in the home")—by a certain "
Vinidarius", whose excerpts of ''Apicius'' survive in one 8th-century
uncial
Uncial is a majuscule script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek and Latin, as well as Gothic, and are the current style for ...
manuscript. Vinidarius's dates may not be much earlier.
Hieroglyphs and symbols for silphium
The Minoans probably used silphium as the visual reference for the hieroglyph ''psi'' (
), meaning "plant." It resembles a central shoot flanked by two stalks. Minoan fetishes with this geometry are known as
psi and phi type figurines, and are also designed for their letter-like shape. This glyph developed into the modern greek
psi
Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to:
Alphabetic letters
* Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet
* Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek
Arts and entertainment
* "Psi" as an abbreviat ...
(Ψ).
Egyptian hieroglyphs for Libyan silphium have also been documented in archeological publications as a balm ingredient that must be dehulled and which produces a sap. In one record, it appears similar to the
hieroglyph for branch (𓆱), written to be read from left to right.
There has been some speculation about the connection between silphium and the traditional
heart shape
The heart symbol is an ideograph used to express the idea of the "heart" in its metaphorical or symbolic sense. Represented by an anatomically inaccurate shape, the heart symbol is often used to represent the center of emotion, including affecti ...
(
♥). Silver coins from Cyrene of the 6th to 5th centuries BCE bear a similar design, sometimes accompanied by a silphium plant, and is understood to represent its seed or fruit. Some plants in the family
Apiaceae
Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...
, such as ''
Heracleum sphondylium
''Heracleum sphondylium'', commonly known as hogweed or common hogweed, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, which includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and Heracleum mantegazzianum, giant hogweed. It is native to m ...
'', have heart-shaped
indehiscent mericarps (a type of fruit).

Contemporary writings help tie silphium to
sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
and love. Silphium appears in
Pausanias' ''Description of Greece'' in a story of the
Dioscuri
Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi.
Their mother was Leda (mythology), Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal ...
staying at a house belonging to Phormion, a
Sparta
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
n:
Silphium as ''laserpicium'' makes an appearance in a poem (
Catullus 7) of
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes.
Life
...
to his lover
Lesbia
Lesbia was the literary pseudonym used by the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus ( 82–52 BC) to refer to his lover. Lesbia is traditionally identified with Clodia, the wife of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer and sister of Publius Clodius Pu ...
(though others have suggested that the reference here is instead to silphium's use as a treatment for mental illness, tying it to the "madness of love").
Heraldry
In the
Italian military
The Italian Armed Forces (, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and are also involved in mission ...
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
, ("Silphium of Cyrenaica, smoothly cut and printed in gold; in
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
: ''silphium
couped
The heads of humans and other animals are frequently occurring charges in heraldry. The blazon, or heraldic description, usually states whether an animal's head is couped (as if cut off cleanly at the neck), erased (as if forcibly ripped from th ...
or of Cyrenaica''") is the symbol granted to units that distinguished themselves in the
Western Desert Campaign
The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...
in North Africa during World War II.
Araldiz silfio.png , Italian coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
Coat of arms of Lybia (1940).svg, Silphium depicted on the arms of Italian Libya
Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...
In popular culture
Characters in
Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award.
Life and career ...
's 1998 historical crime novel ''
Two for the Lions
''Two for the Lions'' is a 1998 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 10th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome and Tripolitania between December AD 73 and May AD 74, during the reign of Emperor Vespas ...
'' travel from Rome to North Africa in search of silphium.
See also
*
Necropolis of Cyrene
Notes
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
* Herodotus.
The Histories'. II:161, 181, III:131, IV:150–65, 200–05.
* Pausanias.
Description of Greece' 3.16.1–3
* Pliny the Elder.
Natural History'. XIX:15 and XXII:100–06.
*
* Theophrastus. ''
Enquiry into plants
An inquiry (also spelled as enquiry in British English) is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the w ...
and minor works on odours and weather signs, with an English translation by Sir
Arthur Hort Sir Arthur F. Hort (1864–1935) was a schoolmaster at Harrow School. He is known for his translation of Theophrastus's '' Enquiry into Plants''.
Biography
Arthur Fenton Hort was born in 1864 to Fanny Henrietta Hort and the biblical scholar Fent ...
, (1916)''
Volume 1 (Books I–V)an
Volume 2 (Books VI–IX)Volume 2 includes the index, which lists silphium (Greek ) on page 476, column 2, 2nd entry.
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
William Turner, ''A New Herball'' (1551, 1562, 1568)
*
*
External links
{{Commons category, Silphium (ancient plant)
Contraception In Ancient Times: Use of Morning-After Pillby David W. Tschanz
at Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
*
'
*
Ferula tingitana'
Abortifacients
Spices
Extinct plants
Holocene extinctions
Medicinal plants
National symbols of Libya
Roman cuisine
Ancient Greek cuisine
Edible Apiaceae
Undescribed plant species