Ferula alliacea
Boiss.
Apiaceae
Peucedanum alliacea Baill.
Common Name:
General Information
Ferula alliacea is a perennial plant growing from a tuberous rootstock; it can grow around 60 - 120cm tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. 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
-
]
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
W. Asia - Iran
Habitat
At elevations from 900 - 2,100 metres.
Properties
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.90 m |
| Pollinators | Insects |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Ferula alliacea is a plant of continental climates in the temperate zone, growing in arid and semi-arid environments..
Ferula species generally can succeed in most soils[
1- Title
- RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
- Publication
-
- Author
- F. Chittendon.
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Year
- 1951
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
], though they prefer a deep, fertile, well-drained soil in a sunny position[
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.
].
Plants have a long taproot and are intolerant of root disturbance[
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.
]. They should be planted into their final positions as soon as possible.
Edible Uses
The plant is a source of the culinary gum 'asafoetida'. See Ferula assa-foetida for details of uses[
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
-
].
Medicinal
The plant (taproot) is the source of a gum that is ananthelmintic, antispasmodic, intestinal antiseptic and carminative. It is used to treat various digestive system disorders and also in the treatment of hysteria and epilepsy[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
2236- Title
- Sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil of Ferula alliacea roots and their mass spectral fragmentation pat
- Publication
- Pharmaceutical Biology, DOI: 10.3109/13880209.2016.1152279
- Author
- Kasaian J. et al
- Website
- http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13880209.2016.1152279
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2016
- ISBN
- 1388-0209
- Description
-
].
Externally, it is used to treat scorpion stings[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].
Various parts of the plant are used in Iranian folklore as a source of asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida), with similar medicinal applications to that species[
2236- Title
- Sulphur-containing compounds in the essential oil of Ferula alliacea roots and their mass spectral fragmentation pat
- Publication
- Pharmaceutical Biology, DOI: 10.3109/13880209.2016.1152279
- Author
- Kasaian J. et al
- Website
- http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13880209.2016.1152279
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2016
- ISBN
- 1388-0209
- Description
-
,
2237- Title
- The genus Ferula: Ethnobotany, phytochemistry and bioactivities - A review
- Publication
- Industrial Crops & Products 129 (2019) 350-394
- Author
- Mohammadhosseinia M. et al
- Website
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.12.012
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2019
- ISBN
-
- Description
-
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as the seed is ripe in a greenhouse in autumn[
1- Title
- RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
- Publication
-
- Author
- F. Chittendon.
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Year
- 1951
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
]. Otherwise sow in mid spring in a greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle. Plant them out into their permanent positions whilst still small because the plants dislike root disturbance[
1- Title
- RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
- Publication
-
- Author
- F. Chittendon.
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Year
- 1951
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
]. If necessary, give the plants a protective mulch for their first winter outdoors.
Division in autumn. This may be inadvisable due to the plants dislike of root disturbance.
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
