What is "silphium"

plant genus, 1771, from Latin, from Greek Silphion, name of a North African Mediterranean plant whose identity has been lost, the gum or juice of which was prized by the ancients as a condiment and a medicine. Probably of African origin.

n. A plant, thought to be extinct, used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in cooking and as a contraceptive.

Silphium (also known as silphion, laserwort, or laser) was a plant that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning and as a medicine. It was the essential item of trade from the ancient North African city of Cyrene, and was so critical to the Cyrenian economy that most of their coins bore a picture of the plant. The valuable product was the plant's resin (laser, laserpicium, or lasarpicium).

Silphium was an important species in prehistory, as evidenced by the Egyptians and Knossos Minoans developing a specific glyph to represent the silphium plant. It was used widely by most ancient Mediterranean cultures; the Romans considered it "worth its weight in denarii" ( silver coins). Legend said that it was a gift from the god Apollo.

The exact identity of silphium is unclear. It is commonly believed to be a now- extinct plant of the genus Ferula, perhaps a variety of " giant fennel". The still-extant plant Ferula tingitana has been suggested as another possibility. Another plant, asafoetida, was used as a cheaper substitute for silphium, and had similar enough qualities that Romans, including the geographer Strabo, used the same word to describe both.

Silphium is a genus of North American plants in the sunflower tribe within the daisy family.

Members of the genus, commonly known as rosinweeds, are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 0.5–4 m tall, with yellow (rarely white) flowerheads. The name of the genus comes from the Ancient Greek word for a North African plant whose identity has been lost, though it is known its gum or juice was prized by the ancients as a medicine and a condiment.

| last = Clevinger
| first = Jennifer A.
| title = 269. Silphium Linnaeus
| journal = Flora of North America
| volume =21
| pages =Page 65, 77, 157
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| location = New York & Oxford
| url = http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=130361
| accessdate = 2008-06-24 }}

1. Silphium albiflorum A.Gray – white rosinweed - TX
2. Silphium asteriscus L. – starry rosinweed - TX OK LA AR MO IL IN KY TN AL MS GA FL SC NC VA WV OH MD PA NY
3. Silphium brachiatum Gatt. – Cumberland rosinweed - TN AL GA
4. Silphium compositum Michx. – kidneyleaf rosinweed - TN AL GA FL SC NC VA WV
5. Silphium glutinosum J.R. Allison
6. Silphium integrifolium Michx. – wholeleaf rosinweed - NM TX LA OK AR MO KS CO WY SD NE IA IL IN KY TN MS AL WI MI MA ONT
7. Silphium laciniatum L. – compassplant - NM TX LA OK AR MO KS CO SD NE MN IA IL IN KY TN MS AL WI MI VA PA NY ONT
8. Silphium laeve Hook. - WA ID
9. Silphium mohrii Small – Mohr's rosinweed - TN AL GA
10. Silphium perfoliatum L. – cup plant - NM TX LA OK AR MO KS CO SD ND NE MN IA IL IN KY TN MS AL WI MI NC VA DE PA NY NJ CT RI MA VT NH ME ONT QUE NB
11. Silphium perplexum J.R.Allison – Old Cahaba rosinweed - AL
12. Silphium pinnatifidum Elliott – Cutleaf prairie dock - AL GA KY TN
13. Silphium radula Nutt. – roughstem rosinweed - KS MO AR OK TX LA
14. Silphium terebinthinaceum Jacq. – prairie rosinweed, prairie dock - IA MO AR MS AL GA SC NC VA WV TN KY OH IN IL WI MI NY ONT
15. Silphium ternatum Sessé & Moc. - Mexico
16. Silphium trifoliatum L. – whorled rosinweed - AL GA IN KY MD NC SC OH PA VA WV
17. Silphium wasiotense M.Medley – Appalachian rosinweed - KY TN

numerous species now regarded as members of other genera: Berlandiera Verbesina