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PASTINACA OPOPONAX, 
Opoponax, or Rough Parsnip* 
Class Pentandria.— Or<:/er Digynia. 
Nat, Ord. Umbellate., Linn. Umbelliferte, Juss. 
Gen. Char. Fruit elliptical, compressed, flat. Petals in- 
volute, entire. Calyx very minute. Floioers regular, 
uniform, fertile. 
Spec. Char. Leaves bipinnate. Leaflets unequal at the base. 
This plant is perennial, and grows wild in the south of Europe ; 
it is also a native of the Levant and the East Indies, from whence 
alone the officinal Opoponax is obtained. This speciesf of parsnip 
was cultivated in England in the year 1731, by Mr. P. Miller, who 
observes, that its " roots are large, sweet, and accounted very 
nourishing ;" it bears the cold of our climate very well, commonly 
nmtures its seed, and its juice manifests some of those qualities 
which are discovered in the officinal Opoponax ; but it is only in the 
warm regions of the East that it concretes into a gummy resinous 
drug; this is obtained by means of incisions made in the bottom of 
tlie stalk of the plant, from whence the juice gradually exudes, and 
by undergoing spontaneous concretion, assumes the appearance 
under which it is imported. 
Botanical Description. The root of this plant is thick, 
fleshy, and tapering like the garden parsnip; the stalk is strong, 
branched, rough towards the bottom, and rises seven or eight feet 
in height; the leaves are pinnated, consisting of several pairs of 
pinnae, which are strong, serrated, veined, and towards the base 
appear unformed on the upper side ; the flowers are small, of a 
yellowish colour, and terminate the stem and branches in flat 
Vmbels; the general and partial umbels are composed of many 
radii ; the general and partial involucre are generally both wanting, 
and their absence is made by Linnaeus a characteristic of the 
* Fig. a. A sprig of flowers, b. The upper part of a leaf in outliue. c. A flower 
largely Biagaified. 
,t OvQTtuuti^, Dioscorldes. 
