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Ligusticopsis wallichiana is a hardy, long-lived perennial from the Himalayas, grown in gardens for its fern-like foliage and large white flower umbels from midsummer to early autumn. It does best in cool, moist, partly shaded conditions.
Ligusticopsis wallichiana is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. In cultivation, it has been known by the synonym Selinum wallichianum.
This plant is cultivated as an ornamental garden subject, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The plant occurs in the Himalayas from India, Nepal, Kashmir and W. Pakistan to Bhutan.
The plant, like many others belonging to the family Apiaceae, is aromatic - particularly the root. The "seeds" (actually fruits, of the mericarp type) have sedative (see also anxiolytic) and aphrodisiac properties and are also used to treat rheumatism and kidney disease. The roots are used to treat abdominal pain (- many Apiaceous plants possess carminative properties, relieving bloating -) and also as a sedative in the treatment of 'hysteria' and 'madness' - particularly when these conditions occur in women (see also Culture-bound syndrome). The whole plant features in traditional magico-religious beliefs of the Himalayan region, being used to prepare dhoop (incense) for ceremonial use (see also Dhupa). More specifically, the powdered root is used as a fumigant in Tantric rituals intended to cure insanity, nervous breakdown and 'hysteria'.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ligusticopsis wallichiana 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.
