Ferula tingitana

Ferula tingitana, the giant Tangier fennel, is a species of the Apiaceae genus Ferula. Despite the name, the plant is not a type of fennel proper, which belongs to another genus (Foeniculum).

Giant Tangier fennel
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Ferula
Species:	F. tingitana
Binomial name
Ferula tingitana L.

Ferula tingitana is a tall perennial herb. It has alternate leaf arrangement and yellow, unisexual flowers which, like other Apiaceae, grow in umbels. It grows in scrubland (batha and phrygana) and rocky areas.^[1] Its range is the Mediterranean coast, in Spain, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Cyprus, and Turkey.^{[2] [3]} In the 1980s there was chemical interest in esters and ethers extracted from it.^[4][5][6]

This species has been considered to have abortive and menstruation-inducing properties.^[7] The species has been suggested as a possible identity for the controversial silphium, a plant used as a spice and for various medical purposes in classical antiquity in the Mediterranean region.^[8] Among the many uses of silphium was promoting menstruation, and possibly contraceptive or abortifacient properties, which has been suggested to link it to Ferula.