''Silaum'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the carrot/parsley

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

. There are currently ten species placed into the genus, a list of which is provided below.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Silaum'' have

umbels UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

which are characteristic of plants in the family Apiaceae (they are ''umbelliferous'', "umbel-bearing"); the umbels in ''Silaus'' species tend to lack

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also loo ...

. ''Silaum'' species also tend to have a few umbellules (secondary umbels of compound umbels), and these umbellules have several small bracts called bractlets. Remains of dead leaves can often be found at the base of the plant; plants in ''Silaum'' are richly branched. The

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

of ''Silaum'' species have a carpophore, a supporting slender stalk for each half of a gape or burst open ( dehisced) fruit - these are common throughout the family Apiaceae; the carpophore is thread or filament-shaped (

filiform Filiform, thread or filament like, can refer to: * Filiform, a common term used in botany to describe a thread-like shape *Filiform, or filiform catheter, a medical device whose component parts or segments are all cylindrical and more or less un ...

). In addition, ''Silaum'' fruits are elongated, divided and not flattened. The

mericarp A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps. There are different definitions: * Any dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate. : Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more seeds (the ...

s (one

carpel Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more ...

of umbelliferous fruit) have acute edges and five, rather low ridges. Plants in ''Silaus'' also have an oil tube in the fruit, called a vitta - there is one vitta per every ridge of furrow (a vallecula), but are indistinct at maturity. The

petals Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

that surround the

flowers 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 ...

are yellow.

Taxonomy and naming

''Silaum'' was first formally described in 1754 by the Scottish

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

in charge of the

Chelsea Physic Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the scie ...

Philip Miller Philip Miller Royal Society, FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botany, botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ...

; this description was published in his own reference series,

The Gardeners Dictionary ''The Gardeners Dictionary'' is a widely cited reference series written by Philip Miller Philip Miller Royal Society, FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botany, botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gard ...

(abr., ed. 4 (1754)). The

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of ''Silaum '' was not explicitly offered by Miller, who applied a plant name used by Pliny,

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' () is a Latin work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. Despite the work' ...

'', Book XXVI, chapter lvi, § 88, the sole mention of ''Silaus'': ''silaus nascitur glariosis et perennibus rivis, cubitalis apii similitudine...'' though it may refer to the mountainous plateau

La Sila La Sila, also simply Sila, is the name of the mountainous plateau and historic region located in Calabria, southern Italy. The Sila National Park is known to have the purest air in Europe. Geography The Sila occupies part of the provinces of Co ...

in southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Species

The

Global Biodiversity Information Facility The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around th ...

(GBIF) lists ten species that are currently placed in the genus ''Silaum'': *'' Silaum besseri'' (

DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

) Galushko *'' Silaum foliosum'' ( Sommier &

Levier Levier () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and te ...

) Grossh. *'' Silaum perfoliatum'' ( Pharm. ex Wehmer) M.Hiroe *'' Silaum peucedanoides'' (

M.Bieb. Baron Friedrich August Marschall von Bieberstein (30 July 1768 – 28 June 1826) was an early explorer of the flora and archeology of the southern portion of Imperial Russia, including the Caucasus and Novorossiya. He compiled the first comprehen ...

) M.Hiroe *'' Silaum popovii'' ( Korovin) M.Hiroe *'' Silaum saxatilis'' Bajtenov *'' Silaum serotinum'' (

Pers. Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (31 December 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a Cape Colony mycologist who is recognized as one of the founders of mycological taxonomy. Early life Persoon was born in Cape Colony at the Cape of Good Hope, the thi ...

) M.Hiroe *''

Silaum silaus ''Silaum silaus'', commonly known as pepper-saxifrage, is a perennial plant in the family Apiaceae, Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) (the carrot family) found across south-eastern, central, and western Europe, including the British Isles. It grows in damp ...

'' ( L.) Schinz & Thell. *'' Silaum tenellum'' ( Velen.) M.Hiroe *'' Silaum tenuifolium'' (

Poir. Jean Louis Marie Poiret (11 June 1755 in Saint-Quentin7 April 1834 in Paris) was a French clergyman, botanist, and explorer. From 1785 to 1786, he was sent by Louis XVI to Algeria to study the flora. After the French Revolution, he became ...

) Reduron

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q743050 Apioideae genera Taxa named by Philip Miller