''Asphodelus ramosus'', the branched asphodel, is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

in the order

Asparagales Asparagales (asparagoid lilies) are a diverse order of flowering plants in the monocots. Under the APG IV system of flowering plant classification, Asparagales are the largest order of monocots with 14 families, 1,122 genera, and about 36,00 ...

. Similar in appearance to '' Asphodelus albus'' and particularly '' Asphodelus cerasiferus'' and '' Asphodelus aestivus'', it may be distinguished by its highly branched stem and smaller fruits.Altervista Flora Italiana, ''Asphodelus ramosus''
includes photos plus European distribution map There has been a lot of confusion over the nomenclature and taxonomy of the species, owing to its similarity to '' Asphodelus aestivus''. ''Asphodelus ramosus'' is native to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

region of southern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. It can also be found in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. It is particularly common in coastal areas of the Mediterranean with intensive grazing and occasional fire. In some areas it shows an affinity for acidic soils, mainly

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

. It can form abundant colonies, usually flowering in February to May. It has been thought to be Homer's asphodel of the underworld, but so has the closely related ''

Asphodeline lutea ''Asphodeline lutea'' (king's spear, yellow asphodel) is a perennial plant native to southeastern Europe, northern Africa, the Caucasus and the Levant. It is grown as a landscaping plant. It has been associated with the Asphodel of the Greek ...

''. The branched asphodel is known to contain

colchicine Colchicine is a medication used to prevent and treat gout, to treat familial Mediterranean fever and Behçet's disease, and to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. The American College of Rheumatology recommends colchicine, nonstero ...

, a chemical used in the treatment of gout.

Physical characteristics

''Asphodelus ramosus'' is a geophyte, having an underground storage organ which enables the plant to survive adverse conditions, such as excessive heat and drought. Its leaves, growing to a height of –, contain alkaloids that are harmful to sheep and goats in the wet, winter months, but during the summer when their leaves dry out, they lose their toxicity.Avi Shmida, ''MAPA's Dictionary of Plants and Flowers in Israel'', Tel-Aviv 2005, s.v. ''Asphodelus aestivus auct.=ramosus'' (p. 77) (Hebrew) Its very numerous

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are white with six

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s bearing a central brown streak. The fruits are small round capsules.

Uses

Some traditional folk usages of the plant have been to make a glue from the plant's root. A remedy against warts is also derived from its root. According to

Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Materia medica, Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic phar ...

, a concoction made from its roots (mixed with wine) induces vomiting.Dioscorides, ''

De Materia Medica (Latin name for the Greek work , , both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, ...

'' (Book II, § 199). Formerly, the entire plant was used in treating venomous snake bites (its efficacy yet to be proven scientifically).

References

ramosus Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Western Asia Flora of Malta Flora of Portugal {{Asphodelaceae-stub