Opopanax chironium

Opopanax chironium
	Opopanax chironium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Opopanax
Species:	O. chironium
Binomial name
	Opopanax chironium; (L.) W.D.J.Koch
Synonyms
	List Dorema chironium (L.) M.Hiroe ; Laserpitium chironium L. ; Malabaila opoponax Baill. ; Malabaila orientalis Benth. & Hook.f. ex Arcang. ; Maspeton chironium (L.) Raf. ; Opopanax bulgaricus Velen. ; Opopanax chironium subsp. bulgaricus (Velen.) N.Andreev ; Opopanax glaber Bernh. ; Opopanax opopanax (L.) H.Karst., not validly publ. ; Pastinaca altissima Lam. ; Pastinaca opopanax L. ; Peucedanum opopanax (L.) M.Hiroe ; Selinum opopanax (L.) Crantz ; Siler chironium Crantz ;

Opopanax chironium, common name Hercules' all-heal,^[2] is a herb of the family Apiaceae.

Description

Opopanax chironium grows 1–3 metres (3 feet 3 inches – 9 feet 10 inches) high.^[3] This perennial herb has a branching stem, thick and rough close to the base. Leaves are serrate, pinnate, with long petioles. It produces a large, flat, yellow inflorescence at the top of the branches.^[4]^[5]

Distribution and habitat

The plant thrives in warm climates like Iran, Italy, Greece and Turkey, but also grows in cooler climates.^[2]^[4]

Uses

A gum resin (mostly gum) can be extracted from this plant by cutting at the base of a stem and sun-drying the juice that flows out. It has a strong unpleasant odor, unlike the perfumery's opopanax which is aromatic.^[3]

Flowers of Opopanax chironium

The resin has been used in the treatment of spasms,^[4] and, before that, as an emmenagogue, in the treatment of asthma, chronic visceral infections, hysteria and hypochondria.^[3] Opopanax resin is most frequently sold in dried irregular pieces, though tear-shaped gems are not uncommon.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "Opopanax chironium (L.) W.D.J.Koch". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Opopanax chironium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c Remington, J.P.; Wood, H.C. (1918). The Dispensatory of the United States of America (20th ed.). Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company. p. 1526.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "A Modern Herbal | Opoponax". botanical.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
^ "Opopònaco - Significato ed etimologia - Vocabolario". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-11-03.

External links

Data related to Opopanax chironium at Wikispecies
Media related to Opopanax chironium at Wikimedia Commons

[powo-1] "Opopanax chironium (L.) W.D.J.Koch". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2 November 2024.

[GRIN-2] "Opopanax chironium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 18 July 2014.

[:0-3] Remington, J.P.; Wood, H.C. (1918). The Dispensatory of the United States of America (20th ed.). Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company. p. 1526.

[fa-4] "A Modern Herbal | Opoponax". botanical.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.

[5] "Opopònaco - Significato ed etimologia - Vocabolario". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-11-03.

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