[Silphium from Cyrenaica, an extinct medicinal plant]

Silphium was both a spice and a medicinal plant. It was regarded as "one of the most precious gifts of Nature to man" (Pliny), and was one of the main sources of revenue contributing to Cyrenaica's wealth. It was so critical to the Cyrenian economy that most of their coins bore a picture of the plant. But, by the time of Nero, the plant had become extinct, probably as a result of overgrazing and overcropping. The botanical identification of silphium is dificult, but the plant was an Umbellifera and most closely resembled Ferula tingitana. Hippocrates, Celsus, Galen and Oribasius recommended it for quartan fever, but it was also said to be useful for many other diseases.