Ferula

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: Scandiceae
Subtribus: Ferulinae
Genus: Ferula
Species: F. afghanica – F. akitschkensis – F. alaica – F. alliacea – F. amanicola – F. ammoniacum – F. anatolica – F. angreni – F. armandii – F. arnoldiana – F. arrigonii – F. assa-foetida – F. atlantica – F. aucheri – F. badghysi – F. badrakema – F. baluchistanica – F. barbeyi – F. behboudiana – F. biverticillata – F. blanchei – F. botschantzevii – F. brevipedicellata – F. bungeana – F. calcarea – F. canescens – F. caspica – F. caucasica – F. ceratophylla – F. clematidifolia – F. communis – F. conocaula – F. coskunii – F. costata – F. cupularis – F. cypria – F. czatkalensis – F. daninii – F. decurrens – F. dictyocarpa – F. dissecta – F. divaricata – F. diversivittata – F. downieorum – F. drudeana – F. dshizakensis – F. dubjanskyi – F. duranii – F. drudeana – F. elaeochytris – F. elbursensis – F. equisetacea – F. euxina – F. fedoroviorum – F. fedtschenkoana – F. ferganensis – F. feruloides – F. flabelliloba – F. foetida – F. fontqueri – F. fujianensis – F. gabrielii – F. ghorana – F. gigantea – F. glaberrima – F. glabra – F. glabrifolia – F. glauca – F. glaucopruinosa – F. gouliminensis – F. gracilis – F. grigoriewii – F. groessingii – F. gummosa – F. gypsacea – F. halophila – F. haussknechtii – F. hedgeana – F. heratensis – F. hermonis – F. heuffelii – F. hexiensis – F. hezarlalehzarica – F. hindukushensis – F. hissarica – F. huber-morathii – F. hyrcana – F. iliensis – F. incisoserrata – F. jaeschkeana – F. juniperina – F. kandaharica – F. karakalensis – F. karatavica – F. karataviensis – F. karategina – F. karelinii – F. kashanica – F. kelifi – F. kelleri – F. kingdon-wardii – F. kirialovii – F. kokanica – F. kopetdagensis – F. korshinskyi – F. koso-poljanskyi – F. krylovii – F. kuhistanica – F. kyzylkumica – F. lancerotensis – F. lapidosa – F. laseroides – F. latiloba – F. latipinna – F. latisecta – F. lehmannii – F. leiophylla – F. leucographa – F. licentiana – F. linczevskii – F. lipskyi – F. lithophila – F. litwinowiana – F. longipedunculata – F. longipes – F. loscosii – F. lutensis – F. lycia – F. macrocolea – F. malacophylla – F. marmarica – F. mervynii – F. michaelii – F. microcolea – F. mikraskythiana – F. mogoltavica – F. mollis – F. mongolica – F. moschata – F. myrioloba – F. narthex – F. negevensis – F. nevskii – F. nuda – F. nuratavica – F. nuristanica – F. olivacea – F. oopoda – F. orientalis – F. ovczinnikovii – F. ovina – F. pachycaulos – F. pachyphylla – F. pallida – F. parva – F. penninervis – F. persica – F. pimenovii – F. pisidica – F. plurivittata – F. potaninii – F. prangifolia – F. pratovii – F. pseudoalliacea – F. racemoso-umbellata – F. rechingeri – F. renardii – F. rigidula – F. rubricaulis – F. rubroarenosa – F. rutbaensis – F. sadleriana – F. samarkandica – F. sauvagei – F. schtschurowskiana – F. seravschanica – F. serpentinica – F. sharifii – F. shehbaziana – F. sibirica – F. sinaica – F. sinkiangensis – F. sjugatensis – F. songarica – F. sphenobasis – F. stenocarpa – F. stenoloba – F. stewartiana – F. subtilis – F. syreitschikowii – F. szowitsiana – F. tabasensis – F. tadshikorum – F. tatarica – F. taucumica – F. tenuisecta – F. tenuissima – F. teterrima – F. thomsonii – F. tingitana – F. trachelocarpa – F. trachyphylla – F. transiliensis – F. tschimganica – F. tschuiliensis – F. tuberifera – F. tunetana – F. ugamica – F. undulata – F. varia – F. vesceritensis – F. vicaria – F. violacea – F. wolffii – F. xanthocarpa – F. xeromorpha – F. xylorhachis
Name

Ferula L., Sp. Pl. 1: 246. (1753)

Type species: Ferula communis L., Sp. Pl. 1: 246. (1753)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Dorema D.Don
Ladyginia Lipsky
Leutea Pimenov Inclusion of Leutea into Ferula is optional rather than obligatory (Panahi et al., 2015).
Schumannia Kuntze
Scorodosma Bunge
Soranthus Ledeb.
Talassia Korovin

References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 246. Reference page.

Additional references

Downie, S.R., Spalik, K., Katz-Downie, D.S. & Reduron, J.-P. 2010. Major clades within Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae as inferred by phylogenetic analysis of nrDNA ITS sequences. Plant Diversity and Evolution 128(1–2): 111–136. DOI: 10.1127/1869-6155/2010/0128-0005 PDF. Reference page.
Kurzyna-Młynik, R., Oskolski, A.A., Downie, S.R., Kopacz, R., Wojewódzka, A. & Spalik, K. 2008. Phylogenetic position of the genus Ferula (Apiaceae) and its placement in tribe Scandiceae as inferred from nrDNA ITS sequence variation. Plant Systematics and Evolution 274(1–2): 47–66. DOI: 10.1007/s00606-008-0022-2 PDF Reference page.
Li, J-P., Peng, X-M. & Yu, W.B. 2010. Nomenclatural notes on Ferula tunshanica (= F. licentiana var. tunshanica) (Apiaceae). Phytotaxa 13: 59–60. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.13.1.6 ResearchGate Reference page.
Panahi, M., Banasiak, Ł., Piwczyński, M., Puchałka, R., Oskolski, A.A. & Spalik, K. 2015. Phylogenetic relationships among Dorema, Ferula and Leutea (Apiaceae: Scandiceae: Ferulinae) inferred from nrDNA ITS and cpDNA noncoding sequences. Taxon 64(4): 770-783. DOI: 10.12705/644.8 ResearchGate Reference page.
Panahi, M., Piwczyński, M., Puchałka, R., Kanani, M.R., Oskolski, A.A., Modnicki, D., Miłobędzka, A. & Spalik, K. 2018. Taxonomy of the traditional medicinal plant genus Ferula (Apiaceae) is confounded by incongruence between nuclear rDNA and plastid DNA. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 188(2): 173–189. DOI: 10.1093/botlinnean/boy055 Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Ferula. 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 on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Aug. 30. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2016. Ferula. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 12 2016.
Tropicos.org 2014. Ferula. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2014 Apr. 21.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Steckenkräuter
English: Giant Fennel
suomi: Keltaputket
italiano: Ferula
lietuvių: Ferula
Türkçe: Çakşır

Ferula (from Latin ferula, 'rod') is a genus of about 170 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 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.[2][3]
Ferula foetida

Selected species

Ferula assa-foetida – Asafoetida
Ferula caspica
Ferula communis – Giant fennel
Ferula conocaula
Ferula cypria – Cyprus fennel
Ferula diversivittata
Ferula foetida
Ferula gummosa, syn. galbaniflua – galbanum
Ferula hermonis
Ferula jaeschkeana
Ferula karelinii
Ferula linkii
Ferula longifolia
Ferula marmarica
Ferula melitensis
Ferula mikraskythiana – endemic to Romania and found in the Dumbrăveni Forest Nature Reserve in 2014[4]
Ferula moschata, syn sumbul – muskroot
Ferula narthex
Ferula orientalis
Ferula persica
Ferula rubricaulis
Ferula schair
Ferula szowitziana
Ferula tingitana
Ferula varia

The Roman spice laser or laserpicium probably came from a species of Ferula, either an extinct one or Ferula tingitana, though other identities have been suggested.
Uses
Ferula in Iran

The gummy resin of many species of Ferula is used for various purposes:

Ferula foetida, Ferula assa-foetida and some other species are used to make the spice asafoetida, or hing[5]
Ferula gummosa makes galbanum
Ferula hermonis makes zallouh
Ferula moschata makes sumbul
Ferula persica or F. szowitziana makes sagapenum
Ferula marmarica makes "Cyrenaican ammoniacum"
Ferula ammoniacum makes "Persian ammoniacum"
Ferula communis subsp. brevifolia makes "Moroccan ammoniacum"
Silphium was used to make laserpicium

The Romans called the hollow light rod made from this plant a ferula (compare also fasces, judicial birches). Such rods were used for walking sticks, splints, for stirring boiling liquids, and for corporal punishment.

References

"Ferula Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Ferula
Flora of Pakistan, Ferula Linn
Bulfina, Ovidiu. "Discovery! New plant species in Romania". Birdlife International. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
Plants for a Future, Ferula assa-foetida L., Asafoetida - Devil's Dung. Hing