Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Ancient texts described silphium as a remedy for everything from tetanus to tooth ache, and a delicacy – it could do it all and was prized around the Mediterranean world. But by the end of the first century CE, it was gone. This plant has the dubious honor of being the first extinction in recorded history… or does it?
Endlings portrait illustrations are by Zoe Keller. You can find out more about her and her work here: zoekeller.com
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#BizarreBeasts #Endlings #silphium
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Sources:
merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Laserpitium#
collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/cyrenaica
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D19%3Achapter%3D15
kew.org/read-and-watch/silphium-mystery
frontiersin.org/journals/conservation-science/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2021.785962/full
mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/1/102
nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/miracle-plant-eaten-extinction-2000-years-ago-silphion
worldhistory.org/article/2252/theophrastus-and-pliny-the-elder-on-silphium
mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/51
britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_EH-p697-3-Cyr
merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thapsia
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Tingis#:~:text=(Classical%20Latin)%20IPA:%20%5B,IPA:%20%5B%CB%88t%CC%AAin%CC%A0%CA%B2.d%CD%A1%CA%92is%5D
sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/asafoetida
collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/cyrene
britannica.com/science/desertification
britannica.com/topic/Great-Chain-of-Being
intechopen.com/chapters/82253
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/the-history-of-evolutionary-thought/1800s/extinctions-georges-cuvier/
https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/georges-cuvier-1769-1832
https://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/did-big-bone-lick-georges-cuvier.php
vox.com/2015/4/13/8384167/thomas-jefferson-mastodons
lewis-clark.org/sciences/geology/paleontology/mastodons
monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/species-extinction
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferula_distribution_map.svg
gbif.org/species/8048981
gbif.org/species/3636208
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Images:
docs.google.com/document/d/1LYq45ROw0ooRJtzB5xhWM14psRKycJrjIMGhW8soiWY/edit?tab=t.0
Ancient texts described silphium as a remedy for everything from tetanus to tooth ache, and a delicacy – it could do it all and was prized around the Mediterranean world. But by the end of the first century CE, it was gone. This plant has the dubious honor of being the first extinction in recorded history… or does it?
Endlings portrait illustrations are by Zoe Keller. You can find out more about her and her work here: zoekeller.com
Subscribe to the pin club here: https://complexly.store/products/bizarre-beasts-pin-subscription
You can cancel any time by emailing hello@dftba.com
Follow us on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bizarrebeastsshow.bsky.social
#BizarreBeasts #Endlings #silphium
-----
Sources:
merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Laserpitium#
collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/cyrenaica
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D19%3Achapter%3D15
kew.org/read-and-watch/silphium-mystery
frontiersin.org/journals/conservation-science/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2021.785962/full
mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/1/102
nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/miracle-plant-eaten-extinction-2000-years-ago-silphion
worldhistory.org/article/2252/theophrastus-and-pliny-the-elder-on-silphium
mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/51
britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_EH-p697-3-Cyr
merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thapsia
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Tingis#:~:text=(Classical%20Latin)%20IPA:%20%5B,IPA:%20%5B%CB%88t%CC%AAin%CC%A0%CA%B2.d%CD%A1%CA%92is%5D
sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/asafoetida
collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/cyrene
britannica.com/science/desertification
britannica.com/topic/Great-Chain-of-Being
intechopen.com/chapters/82253
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/the-history-of-evolutionary-thought/1800s/extinctions-georges-cuvier/
https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/georges-cuvier-1769-1832
https://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/did-big-bone-lick-georges-cuvier.php
vox.com/2015/4/13/8384167/thomas-jefferson-mastodons
lewis-clark.org/sciences/geology/paleontology/mastodons
monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/species-extinction
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferula_distribution_map.svg
gbif.org/species/8048981
gbif.org/species/3636208
------
Images:
docs.google.com/document/d/1LYq45ROw0ooRJtzB5xhWM14psRKycJrjIMGhW8soiWY/edit?tab=t.0
