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Ferula gummosa

Common name:	Galbanum	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	Boiss.	Botanical references:	74, 200
Synonyms:	Ferula galbaniflua (Boiss.& Buhse.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	W. Asia - Central Iran, Turkey and southern Russia.
Habitat:	Herbaceous slopes in steppes[74].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	F. gumosa[HORTIPLEX]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Galbanum [P,H,S,E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe India Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from June to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Condiment.

The gum resin obtained from the root is used as a celery-like food flavouring[177, 238].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antispasmodic Carminative Expectorant Stimulant.

The whole plant, but especially the root, contains the gum resin 'galbanum'[4]. This is antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant and stimulant[4, 46, 64, 238]. It is used internally in the treatment of chronic bronchitis, asthma and other chest complaints[4, 238]. It is a digestive stimulant and antispasmodic, reducing flatulence, griping pains and colic[254]. Externally it is used as a plaster for inflammatory swellings, ulcers, boils, wounds and skin complaints[4, 238].

Other Uses

The aromatic gum resin 'Galbanum' is obtained from wounds made in the stem[4]. It is collected by removing soil from around the top of the root and then cutting a slice off the root[64, 238] and can also be obtained from incisions made in the stem[238]. It is used medicinally and is also an ingredient of incense[1, 64, 171, 238]. It was an important ingredient of the incense used by the Israelites[268].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils[1]. Requires a deep fertile soil in a sunny position[200].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10° c[200]. Another report says that it tolerates temperatures down to at least -15° c and should therefore succeed outdoors in most parts of the country[238].
Plants are intolerant of root disturbance due to their long taproot[200]. They should be planted into their final positions as soon as possible.
The flowers have an unpleasant smell[245].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as the seed is ripe in a greenhouse in autumn[1]. Otherwise sow in April in a greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle. Plant them out into their permanent positions whilst still small because the plants dislike root disturbance[1]. Give the plants a protective mulch for at least their first winter outdoors.
Division in autumn. This may be inadvisable due to the plants dislike of root disturbance.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have an unpleasant smell.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Ferula galbaniflua (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

References for Ferula gumosa (a possible synonym).

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[64] Howes. F. N. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Faber
A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

Readers Comments

Queries about plants

Karen Fletcher (Karen@sosnet.net) Fri Apr 27 16:19:51 2001

I am looking for galbanum resin. It is also known as ferula galbaniflus. Does anyone know where I may purchase this. I do not want oils. I need the resin.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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