''Bupleurum falcatum'', also known as sickle-leaved hare's-ear, Chinese thoroughwax, sickle hare's ear and sickle-leaf hare's ear, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

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 plant ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

and

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...

. ''Bupleurum falcatum'' has been used in Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years as a "liver tonic". ''Bupleurum falcatum'' has been found to possess

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness ...

properties, mediated through the

serotonergic Serotonergic () or serotoninergic () means "pertaining to or affecting serotonin". Serotonin is a neurotransmitter. A synapse In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chem ...

& noradrenergic systems (although the precise mechanism remains to be found).

References

falcatum Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Apiaceae-stub