Ammi majus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Campanulids
Ordo: Apiales

Familia: Apiaceae
Subfamilia: Apioideae
Tribus: Apieae
Genus: Ammi
Species: Ammi majus
Name

Ammi majus L., 1753
Synonyms

Aethusa ammi Spreng.
Ammi boeberi Hell. ex Hoffm.
Ammi broussonetii DC.
Ammi cicutifolium Willd. ex Schult.
Ammi elatum Salisb.
Ammi glaucifolium L.
Ammi intermedium DC.
Ammi majus var. glaucifolium (L.) Mérat
Ammi majus var. glaucifolium (L.) Noulet
Ammi majus var. heterophyllum Lowe
Ammi majus var. intermedium (DC.) Gren. & Godr.
Ammi majus var. isophyllum Lowe
Ammi majus var. laciniatum Godr.
Ammi majus var. serratum Mutel
Ammi majus var. tenue Ball
Ammi majus var. tenuifolium Lowe
Ammi pauciradiatum Hochst. ex A.Rich.
Ammi pumilum (Brot.) DC.
Anethum pinnatum Ruiz & Pav. ex Urban
Apium ammi Crantz [Illegitimate]
Apium ammi-maius Crantz
Apium candollei M.Hiroe
Apium petraeum Crantz
Apium pumilum (Brot.) Calest. [Illegitimate]
Carum majus (L.) Koso-Pol.
Cuminum aethiopicum Royle
Cuminum regium Royle
Daucus glaber Parsa [Illegitimate]
Daucus parsae M.Hiroe
Helosciadium lateriflorum Koch
Pimpinella capillacea Poit. ex Urb.
Pimpinella lateriflora Link
Selinum ammoides E.H.L. Krause
Sison fasciculatum Pohl ex DC.
Sison haenkei C.Presl ex DC.
Sison lateriflorum Bertol.
Sison majus Eaton & Wright
Sison pumilum Brot.
Visnaga vulgaris Bubani

Homonyms

Ammi majus Walt. = Ptilimnium capillaceum (Michx.) Raf.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Albania, Baleares (Mallorca, Menorca), Corsica, Crete, France, Greece (incl. Kiklades), Spain, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Slovenia, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, European Turkey
Continental: Africa
Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Canary Isl. (Hierro, La Palma, Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote), Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt (Desert Oases, Great Southwestern Desert, Nile Delta, Nile Valley)
Continental: Asie
Turkey (NW-Anatolia: Bithynia, S-Anatolia, SE-Anatolia, SSW-Anatolia, SW-Anatolia, W-Anatolia, WN-Anatolia), Cyprus (C-Mountains, E-Cyprus, E-Cyprus, N-Cyprus, S-Cyprus, W-Cyprus), East Aegaean Isl., Rhodos, Iran (NE-Iran: Mts., N-Iran, S-Iran, W-Iran), Iraq (NW-Iraq, SE-Iraq: Mesopotamia, W-Iraq: Desert), Israel (coastal W-Israel, Rift Valley, N-Israel, N-Negev Desert), Jordania (S-Jordania, W-Jordania), Lebanon (C-Lebanon, coastal W-Lebanon), Oman (Dhofar, Mascat & Oman), Saudi Arabia (C-Saudi Arabia, NE-Saudi Arabia, N-Saudi Arabia, Asir, Nejd Desert), Sinai peninsula (N-Sinai, S-Sinai), Syria (C-Syrian Desert, Jazira, NW-Syria)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 243. Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Ammi majus. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Aug. 20. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2017. Ammi majus. Published online. Accessed: Feb. 17 2017.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2017. Ammi majus in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2017 Feb. 17. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2017. Ammi majus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 17 Feb. 2017.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Ammi majus in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Bischofskraut, Große Knorpelmöhre, Großes Ammei
English: Large Bullwort, Bishopsweed, Greater Ammi, Lady’s Lace, Laceflower
español: Espuma del Mar, Apio Cimarrón, Encaje, Ameo Mayor
suomi: Isosudenporkkana
français: Ammi Élevé, Ammi Commun, Ammi Officinal, Ammi Inodore
polski: Aminek Większy
Türkçe: Yabani diş otu

Ammi majus, commonly called bishop's flower, false bishop's weed, laceflower, bullwort, etc., is a member of the carrot family Apiaceae. The plant, which has white lace-like flower clusters, has a large distribution through Southern Europe, North Africa and West and Central Asia, though it is hypothesized to be native to the Nile River Valley.

Nomenclature

The plant[3] is called by various common names: bishop's flower[4][5][6] or bishop's weed[7] (false bishop's weed[8]);[a] laceflower,[9][5][6] lady's lace[5] or false Queen Anne's lace;[4][5][b] bullwort[10][5] (large bullwort);[4] white dill[6] and greater ammi.[11][12]

It is known in Arabic as hirz al-shayateen (حِرز الشياطين) or khella/khilla shaitani (خلة شیطانی).[4]

The plant is also introduced into China, where it is called da a min qin (Chinese: 大阿米芹) and cultivated in medicinal farms.[13][4]
Description

Ammi majus is a herbaceous annual,[5][13] or rather a biennial that behaves like an annual in cultivation.[14]

The lower leaves are 1-2-pinnate, upper leaves 2(-3)-pinnate with serrate lobes.[10]

The inflorescence is compound umbel;[4] they are white umbrella-shaped flowers like those of Queen Anne's lace,[5] blooming June–July and fruiting July-August.[13]
Distribution

Considered indigenous to Egypt,[15] or parts of Europe and the Middle East/West Asia.[5][4] It is also found scattered in the British Isles, in North and Central Scotland,[10] widely distributed in the Mediterranean region (including Southern Europe[10] and North Africa[4]), as well as West Africa and Abyssinia.[15]
Uses

In Egypt around 2000 BC, the juice of Ammi majus was rubbed on patches of vitiligo[16] after which patients were encouraged to lie in the sun.[17] In the 13th century, vitiligo was treated with a tincture of honey and the powdered seeds of a plant called "aatrillal," which was abundant in the Nile River Valley. The plant has since been identified as A. majus,[18] but the trade name Aatrillal is still used today to refer to the yellowish-brown powder made from its seeds.

Ammi majus contains significant amounts of furanocoumarins bergapten and xanthotoxin (also known as methoxsalen), two psoralen derivatives well known for their photosensitizing effects. Indeed, A. majus may well be the world's major source of methoxsalen.[17]

The practice of using Ammi majus to treat vitiligo implicitly acknowledges the hyperpigmentation effects caused by exposure to a photosensitizing agent (such as methoxsalen) followed by ultraviolet radiation. An excess of either the photosensitizing agent or subsequent UV exposure can lead to phytophotodermatitis,[17][19] a serious skin inflammation. Despite this danger, A. majus is cultivated for its furanocoumarins, which are still used for the treatment of skin disease, particularly the furanocoumarin xanthotoxin also known as "ammoidin" and by the brand name "Oxsoralen".[20][21]
Cultivation

Like its close relative Ammi visnaga, A. majus and its cultivars are frequently seen in gardens where they are grown from seed annually. The species[22] and the cultivar 'Graceland'[23] have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Ammi majus flowerhead1 NWS (15367278999).jpg
Ammi majus leaf1 NWS (14933146884).jpg
Neuchâtel Herbarium - Ammi majus - NEU000005508.jpg

Explanatory notes

"bishop's weed" being an ambiguous name that could be confused with Aegopodium podagraria.[5]

As opposed to the true "Queen Anne's lace" (Daucus carota).[5]

References

Citations

Schweizer, F. (2014). "Thymus capitellatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T202922A2758033. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 20 December 2015
"Ammi majus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 8 January 2018.
Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012), "Ammi majus", CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology (5 Volume Set), CRC Press, p. 244, ISBN 978-1-4822-5064-0
Walliser, Jessica (2014), "Ammi majus", Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control, Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, pp. 114–115, ISBN 9781604693881
Tenenbaum, Frances (2003), "A. majus", Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 25, ISBN 9780618226443
Lazarides, M.; Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia. apud GRIN
Erhardt, W. et al. (2002). Zander Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen: Dictionary of plants 17. Auflage apud GRIN
Hanelt, P., ed. (2001). Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6. apud GRIN
Stace, Clive A. (1995) [1991]. New flora of the British Isles. 1st edition. Cambridge University Press. apud GRIN. 3rd edition (2010), p. 823
Rehm, S. (1994). Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. apud GRIN
Other common names listed are: crow's foot; devil's carrot; herb william; honey plant; mayweed.[4]
She, Menglan 佘孟兰; Watson, Mark F. (2005). "43. AMMI Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 243. 1753." 阿米芹属 (PDF). Flora of China. Vol. 13. pp. 80–81.
Niir (2006), p. 266.
Niir (2006), p. 265.
Marshall, Scott R (2006). "Technology Insight: ECP for the treatment of GvHD—can we offer selective immune control without generalized immunosuppression?". Nature Clinical Practice Oncology. Nature Publishing. 3 (6): 302–314. doi:10.1038/ncponc0511. ISSN 1743-4254.
McGovern, Thomas W; Barkley, Theodore M (2000). "Botanical Dermatology". The Electronic Textbook of Dermatology. Internet Dermatology Society. 37 (5). Section Phytophotodermatitis. doi:10.1046/j.1365-4362.1998.00385.x. PMID 9620476. S2CID 221810453. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
Wyss, P. (2000). "History of Photomedicine". In Wyss, P.; Tadir, Y.; Tromberg, B. J.; Haller, U. (eds.). Photomedicine in Gynecology and Reproduction. Basel: Karger. pp. 4–11. doi:10.1159/000062800. ISBN 3-8055-6905-X.
Alouani, I.; Fihmi, N.; Zizi, N.; Dikhaye, S. (2018). "Phytophotodermatitis following the use of Ammi Majus Linn (Bishop's weed) for vitiligo" (PDF). Our Dermatol. Online. 9 (1): 93–94. doi:10.7241/ourd.20181.29.
"Plants For A Future: Ammi majus".
Niir (2006), pp. 266–267.
"RHS Plantfinder – Ammi majus". Royal Horticultural Society. 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.

"RHS Plantfinder – Ammi majus 'Graceland'". Royal Horticultural Society. 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2018.

Bibliography

Niir Board of Consultants and Engineers (2006), "Chapter 22: Cultivation of Ammi Majus Linn, in India", Cultivation and Processing of Selected Medicinal Plants: Small Scale Medicinal plants Processing Projects, Starting a Medicinal plants Processing Business, How to Start a Medicinal plants Production Business, Medicinal plants Based Small Scale Industries Projects, new small scale ideas in ..., Delhi: Asia Pacific Business Press Inc., pp. 265–270, ISBN 9788178330037

Plants of Cyprus