Ligusticopsis wallichiana

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Ligusticopsis wallichiana
Apiaceae - Selinum tenuifolium.jpg
At the Orto Botanico di Brera, Milano
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Ligusticopsis
Species:
L. wallichiana
Binomial name
Ligusticopsis wallichiana
(DC.) Pimenov & Kljuykov
Synonyms

17, see text

Ligusticopsis wallichiana is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. [1] In cultivation, it has been known by the synonym Selinum wallichianum.

Contents

Common name

In its native Himalayas the plant is best known under its Kumaoni name भूतकेशी (bhutkeshi), meaning ghost's hair [2] - in reference to the fibres derived from dead petioles surrounding the top of the rootstock, which are traditionally used to ward off the evil spirits known as bhuts - and it is under this name that the dried root is traded locally. [2]

The English common name Wallich milk parsley is merely a translation of the former Linnaean binomial (scientific name) Selinum wallichianum, which commemorates Danish botanist Nathaniel Wallich. [3]

Description

Ligusticopsis wallichiana can reach a height of 3–6 feet (0.91–1.83 m). It is a long-lived, tuberous-rooted, perennial plant bearing large umbels of thousands of tiny five-petalled white flowers from midsummer to early autumn. The delicate basal leaves are thin (hence one of the former specific names tenuifolium - 'thin-leaved') and finely divided, giving them a fern-like appearance. The plant is grown as a hardy garden ornamental, suitable for informal mixed or shrub borders or woodland gardens, and is effective grown as a specimen plant to display to advantage the tiered effect of its attractive floral umbels. [4]

Distribution

The plant occurs in the Himalayas from India, Nepal, Kashmir and W. Pakistan to Bhutan. [5]

Habitat

Ligusticopsis wallichiana is found in the wild growing among shrubs and also upon open slopes at an elevation of about 13,000 feet (4,000 m).

Cultivation

This plant is cultivated as an ornamental garden subject, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. [3] [6]

Uses in folk medicine and ritual

The plant, like many others belonging to the family Apiaceae, is aromatic - particularly the root. The fruits (of the mericarp type) have sedative (see also anxiolytic) and aphrodisiac properties and are also used to treat rheumatism and kidney disease. The roots are used to treat abdominal pain (- many Apiaceous plants possess carminative properties, relieving bloating -) and also as a sedative in the treatment of 'hysteria' and 'madness' - particularly when these conditions occur in women (see also Culture-bound syndrome). The whole plant features in traditional magico-religious beliefs of the Himalayan region, being used to prepare dhoop (incense) for ceremonial use (see also Dhupa). More specifically, the powdered root is used as a fumigant in Tantric rituals intended to cure insanity, nervous breakdown and 'hysteria'. [7] The above uses suggest that preparations of the plant are capable of exerting effects upon the Central nervous system and Genitourinary system and that the plant may be mildly psychoactive, bearing comparison with the related Apiaceous plant Ferula moschata - another umbellifer with a long history of use in India to treat 'hysteria' and as a ritual incense and one which has been observed, on occasion, to elicit narcotic effects. [8] Folk-medicinal uses eliciting psycho-sexual effects further invite comparison with another Ferula species, namely Ferula hermonis , considered, like Ligusticopsis wallichiana, to possess aphrodisiac properties. [9]

Synonymy

The species has acquired many synonyms: [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apiaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

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 plants, with more than 3,800 species in about 446 genera, including such well-known and economically important plants as ajwain, angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and sea holly, as well as silphium, a plant whose exact identity is unclear and which may be extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asafoetida</span> Indian spice derived from Ferula roots

Asafoetida is the dried latex 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 Asia, northern India, and Northwest China (Xinjiang). Different regions have different botanical sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parsnip</span> Root vegetable in the flowering plant family Apiaceae

The parsnip is a root vegetable closely related to carrot and parsley, all belonging to the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is a biennial plant usually grown as an annual. Its long taproot has cream-colored skin and flesh, and, left in the ground to mature, becomes sweeter in flavor after winter frosts. In its first growing season, the plant has a rosette of pinnate, mid-green leaves. If unharvested, it produces a flowering stem topped by an umbel of small yellow flowers in its second growing season, later producing pale brown, flat, winged seeds. By this time, the stem has become woody, and the tap root inedible. Precautions should be taken when handling the stems and foliage, as parsnip sap can cause a skin rash or even blindness if exposed to sunlight after handling.

<i>Ferula</i> Genus of plants

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. They are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 1–4 m tall, with stout, hollow, somewhat succulent stems. The leaves are tripinnate or even more finely divided, with a stout basal sheath clasping the stem. The basal sheaths of Ferula oopoda are up to six inches (15 cm) long and form a cup holding about a cup of rainwater, possibly to draw pollinators in an arid land. The flowers are usually yellow, rarely white, produced in large umbels. Many plants of this genus, especially F. communis, are referred to as "giant fennel," although they are not fennel in the strict sense.

<i>Pinus wallichiana</i> Species of conifer

Pinus wallichiana is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valleys at altitudes of 1800–4300 m, reaching 30–50 m (98–164 ft) in height. It favours a temperate climate with dry winters and wet summers. In Pashto, it is known as Nishtar.

<i>Aegopodium podagraria</i> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae

Aegopodium podagraria, commonly called ground elder, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae that grows in shady places. The name "ground elder" comes from the superficial similarity of its leaves and flowers to those of elder (Sambucus), which is not closely related. Other common names include herb gerard, bishop's weed, goutweed, gout wort, snow-in-the-mountain, English masterwort and wild masterwort. It is the type species of the genus Aegopodium. It is native to Europe and Asia, but has been introduced around the world as an ornamental plant, where it occasionally poses an ecological threat as an invasive exotic plant.

<i>Conium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the celery family Apiaceae

Conium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. As of December 2020, Plants of the World Online accepts six species.

<i>Tetrapanax</i> Family of shrubs

Tetrapanax papyrifer, the rice-paper plant, is an evergreen shrub or tree in the family Araliaceae, the sole species in the genus Tetrapanax. The specific epithet is frequently misspelled as "papyriferum", "papyriferus", or "papyrifera". It is endemic to Taiwan, but widely cultivated in East Asia and in other tropical or mild temperate regions as well.

<i>Achimenes</i> Genus of flowering plants

Achimenes is a genus of about 25 species of tropical and subtropical rhizomatous perennial herbs in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. They have a multitude of common names such as magic flowers, widow's tears, Cupid's bower, or hot water plant.

<i>Sanicula epipactis</i> Species of flowering plant

Sanicula epipactis is a species of flowering plant of the family Apiaceae, native to Europe. Under the synonym Hacquetia epipactis, it was the only species in the monotypic genus Hacquetia.

<i>Ligusticum</i> Genus of plants

Ligusticum is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Its name is believed to derive from the Italian region of Liguria.

<i>Cenolophium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Cenolophium is a genus of flowering plants in the carrot family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). Its only species is Cenolophium denudatum, native to Europe and Asia. A herbaceous perennial, it grows to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall by 0.5 m (1.6 ft) wide, with dark green divided leaves and, in summer, many umbels of tiny pale green or white flowers on branching naked stems. The stems are sometimes purple in colour. The flowers are attractive to numerous insects.

<i>Allium cristophii</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Allium cristophii, the Persian onion or star of Persia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to Iran, Turkey, and Turkmenistan, though grown as an ornamental bulbous plant in many parts of the world. It may be sold under the synonym of Allium albopilosum.

<i>Digitalis <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> fulva</i> Hybrid species of flowering plant

Digitalis × fulva, the strawberry foxglove, is a hybrid species of flowering plant within the family Plantaginaceae. It is a naturally occurring fertile hybrid between the species Digitalis grandiflora and Digitalis purpurea. The species is widely marketed in the UK under the common name strawberry foxglove or its taxonomic synonym Digitalis × mertonensis. The species has been used to produce various cultivars and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

<i>Ligusticum scoticum</i> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae

Ligusticum scoticum, known as Scots lovage, or Scottish licorice-root, is a perennial flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae found near the coasts of northern Europe and north-eastern North America. It grows up to 60 centimetres (24 in) tall and is found in rock crevices and cliff-top grassland. It is closely related to, and possibly conspecific with, Ligusticum hultenii from the coast of the northern Pacific Ocean. The plant is edible and contains the compound sotolon, which is also present in fenugreek. The leaves have a flavour similar to parsley or celery, while the seeds taste similar to fenugreek or cumin.

Selinum is a Eurasiatic genus of flowering plants in the parsley family Apiaceae.

Milk parsley is a common name for several plants and may refer to:

Ferula hermonis is a species of flowering plant in the Apiaceae family. It is native to Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. The epithet hermonis refers to Mount Hermon on the border between Syria and Lebanon.

<i>Neogaya</i> Species of flowering plants

Neogaya is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae. It contains just one species, Neogaya simplex, and can be found in Europe, the Alps, the western and southern Carpathians, former Yugoslavia, Belarus. European Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and western Siberia.

References

  1. 1 2 Kew Plants of the World Online http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:20000765-1 Retrieved at 1.01am on 15/9/21.
  2. 1 2 Singh, Harish "Importance of local names of some useful plants in ethnobotanical study", Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge vol 7 (2), April 2008, pps. 365-370 [ plant listed in table under synonym Selinum candollii DC ]
  3. 1 2 "RHS Plantfinder - Selinum wallichianum" . Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  4. The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants Editor-in-Chief Christopher Brickell, pub. Dorling Kindersley 1996, reprinted 1997, ISBN   0-7513-0303-8 page 952.
  5. Polunin, Oleg and Stainton, Adam, Flowers of the Himalaya, pub. Oxford University Press 1984, page 157 and illustration on plate 51, of plant growing in Ganesh Himal range, Central Nepal.
  6. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 96. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  7. Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012). CRC World dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants: common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms and etymology. Volume 5 R-Z. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group, page 228.
  8. Grieve, Mrs. M. A Modern Herbal , first published 1931,Jonathan Cape Ltd.,reprinted 1974 and 1975. pps. 781-2.
  9. Graham White, National Institute of Medical Herbalists, Ferula hermonis "The Lebanese Viagra" by Stuart FitzSimmons