Silphium is the name of a golden coloured plant that was highly used in ancient times, much favoured among the Romans for it's chemical that was used as a love potion. It was known as an aphrodisiac, and plenty of horny people sought the plant Silphium. It was picked and then collected, sold in markets, sold in shops, given away as gifts to lovers and even used at orgiastic parties. Then two thousand years ago, Silphium became extinct.
It was eaten too much, and then it stopped growing. Found only on the coast of Cyrenaica, it wasn't able to be harvested or cultivated elsewhere. So it only allowed to grow in its natural place. Lustful Romans ended the flower. Yet, was this true? Let me look into it. The ancient Greeks called it Silphion, but it was a favourite passion flower in demand already, long before the Greeks and Romans. The flower was a food source, cooked and consumed during harsh droughts, bad harvests and disease outbreaks. The flower acted as medicine, a healing herb, and also fed hungry mouths. It was mostly a contraceptive, taken by women who didn't want to get pregnant while enjoying company of men.
But it was highly valued as an aphrodisiac. The ancient Greeks had coins with the image of the Silphium plant on the reverse side. It was at the reign of Julius Caesar, that a load of Silphium was stockpiled with a value of thousands of pounds, along with gold in the Roman treasure vault. Saplings of Silphium was of the same value as silver. Everyone loved Silphium. But one day, it simply vanished. It was the Roman writer Pliny the Elder who said "only one stalk" of Silphium was found. That stalk was given to Emperor Nero and it was the last time Silphium was reported.
It was many centuries later after Pliny the Elder (who died in 79 AD) that people searched high and low for the fabled legendary flower Silphium. They looked around the Mediterranean coasts and especially at Cyrenaica where the plant naturally grew. During the Middle Ages, people searched for Silphium over many continents and they travelled with knowledge of botany and historic texts. It was never found and it was concluded the plant was extinct.
A researcher named Mahmut Miski of Istanbul University believes that he found the plant growing on Mount Hasan in Turkey. This plant is scientifically called Ferula Drudeana, although many people debate this and believe it could be a relation nothing more.
Further info and reading "On the hunt for mystery herb" at Kew: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/silphium-mystery
"Gift of Apollo" at Garden of Gods and Monsters: https://gardenofgodsandmonsters.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/gift-of-apollo-and-womens-friend-silphium/
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