Ferula narthex

Botanical Description

Ferula narthex is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a taproot; the robust stem can grow up to 200cm 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 ]. The plant is collected on a large scale in Pakistan and sold in markets. It is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental in gardens. Ferula narthex is harvested from the wild for its medicinal properties and it has been reported to have suffered substantial population declines in Chitral, Pakistan as a result of this exploitation. However, the species is reported to be a common species in Afghanistan and, given its widespread distribution, it is suspected that the global population is large. On a global scale, therefore, the plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].