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Leontice leontopetalum is a tuberous perennial from dry, semi-desert regions of the eastern Mediterranean and Iran. It grows from a deep, potato-like tuber and needs a dry summer rest, with yellow flowers in late winter to spring.
Leontice leontopetalum, commonly known as leontice, lion's foot, lion's turnip, and lion's leaf, is a perennial geophyte having a wide distribution, and growing primarily in semi-desert regions. The name "lion's foot" is derived from the Greek λεοντοπέταλη [= "lioness"] in reference to a fancied resemblance between the shape of the leaves and the pads of a lioness’s paw.
Leontice leontopetalum is mostly found growing in North Africa, the eastern regions of Greece, Southern Bulgaria, and in the Near Eastern deserts, endemic to such regions as the Negev in Israel, as well as in semi-dry regions stretching across Armenia, Turkey, Northern Iran, and W. Pakistan. The plant grows in open-landscapes, in heavy and deep clay soils, in altitudes ranging from 300 metres (980 ft)–1,100 metres (3,600 ft), as well as in valleys and washes where there is an abundance of loess and alluvial soils.
The tuberous roots of the leontice have been used by locals as soap to remove stains from clothing, especially from cashmere wool. Ibn al-Baytar does not distinguish, but says that the plant was used, in general, to cleanse woollen garments. The plant also has medicinal uses. In Turkey, the root of Leontice leontopetalum has traditionally been used as an antidote to opium overdose, which root they call aslab. Some scholars have speculated that the plant may have been the ashlag (Hebrew: אשלג) described in the Mishnah (Shabbat 9:5; Niddah 9:6), used as a cleansing substance, owing to its similarity to the Arabic name used for the same plant, and which language is believed to be a cognate of Hebrew.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Leontice leontopetalum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
