A professor has rediscovered a miracle plant once used by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. The plant, which is said to have disappeared more than two thousand years ago, was known as silphion (or silphium) by the ancient Greeks. The professor has discovered what he believes is a botanical survivor, which could open new doors to medicines we haven’t seen in two millennia.
Historians believe that the ancient Greeks used this miracle plant by crushing it, roasting it, sautéing it and even boiling it to create food and even medicinal items that could help in times of illness. injuries and even contraception. They say that the ancient peoples of Greece, Rome and even Egypt may have used the golden flower petals and the stem of the plant in their cures.
This miracle plant was so highly valued that many believe Julius Caesar stored thousands of pounds of the plant alongside Rome’s gold stores, with saplings of the plant valued at the same price as silver. According GreekReporterthe last known documentation of silphion was made by Pliny the Elder during the first century AD
Since then, however, the miracle plant has remained a complete mystery, at least until now. Many searched for the plant throughout the Middle Ages on three separate continents. All of these searches were in vain and many believed that he had completely disappeared.
With this recent discovery, however, it is not clear whether or not it is the miracle plant that was so widely used at the time. However, Mahmut Miski, a researcher at Istanbul University, believes that Ferula Drudeana, a similar plant found on Mount Hasan, is the elusive miracle plant. The discovery was made over a thousand miles from where she grew up all those years ago, but it has many similarities.
This flower and those depicted in older botanical texts have the same thick stems and branching roots. Additionally, both plants appear to have powerful medicinal purposes, with Ferula Drudeana offering cancer-fighting compounds like those found in the original miracle plant. Additionally, the locations of the factories coincided with regions that the ancient Greeks once called home.
The rediscovery of such a plant could prove beneficial for several reasons, including advancing cancer drugs.