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Ferula

Scientific Names


• Ferula sumbul L.
• Umbelliferae
• Umbel family

Common Names

Musk root
Sumbul
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Parts Usually Used

Root
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Sumbul is a perennial herb; its thick, brown, spongy rootstock produces a stem with alternate, pinnately decompound leaves with thread-like segments. The small, yellow flowers grow in compound, many-rayed umbels.

Another variety: Ferula assa-foetida commonly called asafetida. (Malva moschata is also called Musk root)
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Where Found

Native to central and western Asia.
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Medicinal Properties

Antispasmodic, nervine
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Uses

Useful for asthma and bronchitis. Has been used for hysteria, hypochondria, and for general debility (neurasthenia). The rootstock has a musky odor that is a good substitute for musk oil.
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Formulas or Dosages

Infusion: steep 1 tsp. rootstock in 1 pint water. Take in mouthful doses, 2 to 3 times a day.

Tincture: a dose is from 2-5 drops.
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Bibliography

American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973

The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Herbal Gardening, compiled by The Robison York State Herb Garden, Cornell Plantations, Matthaei Botanical Gardens of the University of Michigan, University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley., Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984

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