Editing Silphium (section)

==Identity and extinction==
[[File:Magas as Ptolemaic governor, first reign, circa 300-282 or 275 BC Didrachm.jpg|thumb|A coin of [[Magas of Cyrene]] {{circa|300–282/75 BC}}. Reverse: silphium and small crab symbols.]]
The identity of silphium is highly debated. Without a surviving sample, no genetic analysis can be made. It is generally considered to belong to the genus ''[[Ferula]]'' as an extinct or living species. The extant plants ''[[Thapsia gummifera]]'',<ref name="Amigues"/> ''[[Ferula tingitana]]'', ''[[Ferula narthex]]'', ''[[Ferula drudeana]]'', and ''[[Thapsia garganica]]'' have been suggested as possible identities.<ref name="Tatman"/><ref name="Straight Dope"/><ref name="National Geographic" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Andrews |first1=Alfred C. |title=The Silphium of the Ancients: A Lesson in Crop Control |journal=Isis |date=1941 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=232–236 |doi=10.1086/358541 |jstor=330743 |s2cid=144108503}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Parejko |first1=K |year=2003 |title=Pliny the Elder's Silphium: First Recorded Species Extinction |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=925–927 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.02067.x |bibcode=2003ConBi..17..925P |s2cid=84007922}}</ref> ''[[Ferula drudeana]]'', an endemic species found in Turkey, is a candidate for silphium based on appearance from descriptions and on its production of a spice-like gum-resin with supposedly similar properties to silphium.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Miski |first=Mahmut |date=2021-01-06 |title=Next Chapter in the Legend of Silphion: Preliminary Morphological, Chemical, Biological and Pharmacological Evaluations, Initial Conservation Studies, and Reassessment of the Regional Extinction Event |journal=Plants |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=102 |doi=10.3390/plants10010102 |issn=2223-7747 |pmc=7825337 |pmid=33418989|doi-access=free|bibcode=2021Plnts..10..102M }}</ref><ref name="National Geographic" /> However, ''F. drudeana'' belongs to a lineage from the southern Caspian Sea region with no known connection to Eastern Libya.<ref name = sb2018>{{cite journal |title=Phylogenetic positions of seven poorly known species of ''Ferula'' (Apiaceae) with remarks on the phylogenetic utility of the plastid ''TRNH-psbA, TRNS-TRNG'', and ''atpB-RBCL'' intergenic spacers |year=2018 |last1=Piwczyński |first1=Marcin |last2=Wyborska |first2=Dominika |last3=Gołębiewska |first3=Joanna |last4=Puchałka |first4=Radosław |journal=Systematics and Biodiversity |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=428–440 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/6015386  |doi=10.1080/14772000.2018.1442374 |bibcode=2018SyBio..16..428P |s2cid=90391176 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Theophrastus]] mentioned silphium as having thick roots covered in black bark, about one [[cubit]] (48&nbsp;cm) long, with a hollow stalk, similar to [[fennel]], and golden leaves like those of celery.<ref name="BBC2017"/>

[[File:Weighing and loading of Silphium at Cyrene. Wellcome L0002417.jpg|thumb|Weighing and loading of silphium at Cyrene]]
The disappearance of silphium is considered the first extinction of a plant or animal species in recorded history.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grescoe |first1=Taras |title=Eat the past to preserve the future |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-to-save-the-future-from-food-insecurity-we-should-look-to-cuisine-of/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=6 March 2024 |date=15 September 2023}}</ref> The cause of silphium's supposed extinction is not entirely known but numerous factors are suggested. Silphium had a remarkably narrow native range, about {{convert|125|by|35|mi}}, in the southern steppe of [[Cyrenaica]] (present-day eastern [[Libya]]).<ref>"Off this tract is the island of Platea, which the Cyrenaeans colonized. Here too, upon the mainland, are Port Menelaus and Aziris, where the Cyrenaeans once lived. The Silphium begins to grow in this region, extending from the island of Platea on the one side to the [[Gulf of Sidra|mouth of the Syrtis]] on the other." (Herodotus, iv.168–198 [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/herod-libya1.html on-line text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409023843/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/herod-libya1.html |date=2013-04-09 }})</ref> [[Overgrazing]] combined with [[overharvesting]] have long been cited as the primary factors that led to its extinction.<ref name="PlinyXIX">Pliny, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+19.15 XIX, Ch.15] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928142511/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+19.15&redirect=true |date=2022-09-28 }}</ref> However, recent research has challenged this notion, arguing instead that [[desertification]] in ancient Cyrenaica was the primary driver of silphium's decline.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pollaro |first1=Paul |last2=Robertson |first2=Paul |date=2022 |title=Reassessing the Role of Anthropogenic Climate Change in the Extinction of Silphium |journal=Frontiers in Conservation Science |volume=2 |doi=10.3389/fcosc.2021.785962 |issn=2673-611X|doi-access=free|bibcode=2022FrCS....2.5962P }}</ref>

Another theory is that when [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] provincial governors took over power from Greek colonists, they over-farmed silphium and rendered the soil unable to yield the type that was said to be of such medicinal value. [[Theophrastus]] wrote in [[Historia Plantarum (Theophrastus)|''Enquiry into Plants'']] that the type of ''Ferula'' specifically referred to as "silphium" was odd in that it could not be [[Horticulture|cultivated]].<ref>Theophrastus, III.2.1, VI.3.3</ref> He reports inconsistencies in the information he received about this, however.<ref>Theophrastus, VI.3.5</ref> This could suggest the plant is similarly sensitive to soil chemistry as [[huckleberries]] which, when grown from seed, are devoid of fruit.<ref name="BBC2017"/>

Similar to the soil theory, another theory holds that the plant was a [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]], which often results in very desired traits in the [[F1 hybrid|first generation]], but [[F2 hybrid|second-generation]] can yield very unpredictable outcomes. This could have resulted in plants without fruits, when planted from seeds, instead of asexually reproducing through their roots.<ref name="BBC2017"/>

[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] reported that the last known stalk of silphium found in Cyrenaica was given to Emperor [[Nero]] "as a curiosity".<ref name="PlinyXIX"/>