''Thapsia gummifera'' (syn. ''Margotia gummifera'') is a species of flowering plant in the family

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 ...

, native to the western Mediterranean; Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It has been proposed as a candidate for the plant known in antiquity as

silphium Silphium (also known as ''laserwort'' or ''laser''; Ancient Greek: , ) is an unidentified plant that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning, perfume, aphrodisiac, and medicine. It was an essential item of trade from the ancient North Af ...

and gone extinct in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in the 5th century.

References

Apioideae Flora of Portugal Flora of Spain Flora of Morocco Flora of Algeria Flora of Tunisia Plants described in 1818 {{Apiaceae-stub