Apiaceae FAMILY

Ferula foetida

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Ferula foetida is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a taproot; it can grow up to 100vm tall[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. This species is a minor commercial source of the medicinal and culinary gum asafoetida, which is mainly obtained from Ferula assa-foetida[ 2238 Title Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activity of Extracts of Ferula heuffelii Griseb. ex Heuff. and Its Metabolites Publication Chemistry and Biodiversity, Vol. 12 (2015) 1585-1594 Author Pavlovic I. et al Publisher Year 2015 ISBN Description ] It is sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeCentral and western Asia - Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

HabitatSandy deserts[ 4 Title A Modern Herbal. Publication Author Grieve. Publisher Penguin Year 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 Description Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants. , 74 Title Flora of the USSR. Publication Author Komarov. V. L. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Israel Program for Scientific Translation Year 1968 ISBN - Description An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ]. Rocky hillsides[ 268 Title The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Publication Author Stuart. M. (Editor) Publisher Orbis Publishing. London. Year 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2 Description Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs. ].