| Giant Tangier fennel | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Apiaceae |
| Genus: | Ferula |
| Species: | F. tingitana |
| Binomial name | |
| 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 perennial herb. It has alternate leaf arrangement and yellow, unisexual flowers which, like other Apiaceae, grow in umbels. It grows in scrubland (batha and phrygana) and rocky areas. [1] Its range is the Mediterranean coast, in Spain, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Cyprus, and Turkey. [2] [3] In the 1980s there was chemical interest in esters and ethers extracted from it. [4] [5] [6]
This species has been considered to have abortive and menstruation-inducing properties. [7] The species has been suggested as a possible identity for the controversial silphium, a plant used as a spice and for various medical purposes in classical antiquity in the Mediterranean region. [8] Among the many uses of silphium was promoting menstruation, and possibly contraceptive or abortifacient properties, which has been suggested to link it to Ferula .