Silphium (genus)
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Silphium is a genus of North American plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae.
Silphium integrifolium compressed
Silphium integrifolium (rosinweed) flowers
Silphium laciniatum (compass plant) leaves
Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant) flowers in Lower Saxony, Germany
Silphium
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Silphium is an unidentified plant that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning, perfume, aphrodisiac, and medicine.
Silphium (genus)
…are sterile and disc florets are perfect, capable of producing both pollen and seeds. 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. Species in the genus include…
Four-branched silphium plant producing four bulbs and three leaflets on each branch, on a gold tenth-stater of Cyrenaica (331-322 BCE)
A coin of Magas of Cyrene c. 300–282/75 BC: the reverse has silphium and small crab symbols
Weighing and loading of silphium at Cyrene
Ancient Cyrenean silver coin depicting a silphium seed or fruit