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{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{taxobox
{{Speciesbox
⚫
|name = ''Opopanax chironium''
|image = Opopanax chironium 2007-06-02 (flower).jpg
|image = Apiaceae - Opopanax chironium.JPG
⚫
|image_caption = Plant of ''Opopanax chironium''
|regnum = [[Plantae]]
⚫
|genus = Opopanax
|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
|species = chironium
|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
|authority = [[Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch|W.D.J.Koch]]
|unranked_ordo = [[Asterids]]
|synonyms =
|ordo = [[Apiales]]
{{Plainlist | style = margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; |
|familia = [[Apiaceae]]
*''Dorema chironia'' <small>(L.) [[M.Hiroe]]</small>
⚫
|genus = '''''Opopanax'''''
*''Laserpitium chironium'' <small>L.</small>
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = *''[[Opopanax chironium]]''
*''Maspeton chironium'' <small>(L.) Raf.</small>
*''Opopanax bulgaricus'' <small>Velen.</small>
* 2 other species
|}}
}}
|synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2390877
|title=The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species
}}</ref>
}}


'''''Opopanax chironium''''', common name '''Hercules' all-heal''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | accessdate=18 July 2014}}</ref> is a [[herb]] of the family [[Apiaceae]].
⚫
'''Opopanax chironium''', also known as ''sweet [[myrrh]]'' or ''[[bisabol]] myrrh'', is a [[herb]] that grows one to three feet high and produces a large, [[yellow]] [[inflorescence]]. The plant thrives in warm climates like [[Iran]], [[Italy]], [[Greece]], [[Turkey]] and [[Somalia]], but also grows in cooler climates. Some view opopanax grown in cooler climates as being of inferior quality.


==Subspecies==
⚫
A consumable [[resin]] can be extracted from opopanax by cutting the plant at the base of a [[Plant stem|stem]] and sun-drying the juice that flows out. Though people often find the taste acrid and bitter, the highly flammable resin can be burned as [[incense]] to produce a scent somewhat like balsam or [[lavender]]. The resin has been used in the treatment of [[spasm]]s, and, before that, as an [[emmenagogue]], in the treatment of [[asthma]], chronic visceral infections, [[hysteria]] and [[hypochondria]]. Opopanax resin is most frequently sold in dried irregular pieces, though tear-shaped gems are not uncommon.
*''Opopanax chironium'' subsp. ''chironium''
*''Opopanax chironium'' subsp. ''bulgaricum'' (Vel.) N.Andreev<ref>[http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2014/details/species/id/9466462 Catalogue of Life]</ref>


==Description==
Opopanax is also used in the production of certain [[perfumes]].
''Opopanax chironium'' grows {{convert|1|-|3|m}} high.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Remington|first=J.P.|url=https://www.henriettes-herb.com/eclectic/usdisp/opopanax.html|title=The Dispensatory of the United States of America|last2=Wood|first2=H.C.|publisher=J.B. Lippincott Company|year=1918|edition=20th|location=Philadelphia & London|page=1526}}</ref> This perennial herb has a branching stem, thick and rough close to the base. Leaves are serrate, pinnate, with long petioles. It produces a large, flat, [[yellow]] [[inflorescence]] at the top of the branches.<ref name=fa>[http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/o/opopon10.html Botanical]</ref><ref>[http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/opoponaco/ Enciclopedia Treccani]</ref>


==Uses==
The spelling 'opoponax' is also widely used (eg in <ref name=botanical>{{cite web | title=Opoponax | work=Botanical.com | url=
A [[natural gum|gum]] [[resin]] (mostly gum) known as [[Opopanax (genus)|opopanax]] can be extracted from this plant by cutting at the base of a [[Plant stem|stem]] and sun-drying the juice that flows out. It has a strong unpleasant odor, unlike the [[perfumery's opopanax]] which is aromatic.<ref name=":0" />
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/o/opopon10.html | accessdate = 2005-12-15}}</ref>). The [[OED]] gives 'opopanax' as the principal spelling, but lists 'opoponax' as a variant spelling recorded from the 19th century.<ref name=oed>{{cite web|title=opopanax|work=Oxford English Dictionary|url=http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00332792?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=opopanax|accessdate=2009-12-27}} (subscription required)</ref>
[[File:Apiaceae - Opopanax chironium-001.JPG|thumb|240px|left|Flowers of ''Opopanax chironium'']]


⚫
The resin has been used in the treatment of [[spasm]]s,<ref name=fa/> and, before that, as an [[emmenagogue]], in the treatment of [[asthma]], chronic visceral infections, [[hysteria]] and [[hypochondria]].<ref name=":0" /> Opopanax resin is most frequently sold in dried irregular pieces, though tear-shaped gems are not uncommon.<ref name=fa/>
==Etymology==


==Distribution and habitat==
From Anglo-Norman ''opopanac'', from Latin opopanax, from Hellenistic Greek ὀποπάναξ, from Ancient Greek ὀπός ‘vegetable juice’ + πάναξ ‘panacea’ (all healing).<ref name=oed/>
⚫
The plant thrives in warm climates like [[Iran]], [[Italy]], [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]], but also grows in cooler climates.<ref name=GRIN/><ref name=fa/> Some view opopanax grown in cooler climates as being of inferior quality.

==Cultural references to opopanax==
*[[King Solomon]] allegedly regarded the opoponax as the noblest of incense gums.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}

*In the thirteenth chapter of [[James Joyce|James Joyce's]] ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'' ([[Nausicaa]]), [[Leopold Bloom]] recognizes opopanax as an ingredient in the perfume of his wife, [[Molly Bloom|Molly]].

*In ''[[The Grand Duke]]'', by [[W. S. Gilbert]], the mock-Grecian chorus that opens the second Act repeat the words "Opopanax eloia!" many times.

*In the novel ''[[Black House (novel)|Black House]]'' by [[Stephen King]] and [[Peter Straub]], the word opopanax is used repeatedly and constantly in a nonsensical fashion, as both a verb and an adjective (e.g. "distant cry of the opopanax", the opopanax this, the opoponax that, etc.) eventually becoming a symbol for all the strange and incomprehensible events unfolding in the book.

*In another Stephen King novel, ''[[Wolves of the Calla]]'' (the fifth book in ''[[The Dark Tower (series)|The Dark Tower]]'' series), a character holds an "opopanax feather", thus suggesting that it is the name of a bird. No other explanation is given in the story.

*In the novel ''[[Against the Day]]'' by [[Thomas Pynchon]], the child mobster "Plug" Loafsley runs a club that smells strongly of opopanax, [[vervain]], and bodily ejecta.

*Gives the title of John Brosnan's 1993 [[SF]] novel 'The Opopanax Invasion', where an alien [[DNA]] is contained in a resin said to be similar to the opopanax.

*In the novel 'The Lost Luggage Porter' by [[Andrew Martin (novelist)|Andrew Martin]], the hero's wife has sweet jars of [[Parma Violets]] and Opopanax.

*The title of the novel ''[[L’Opoponax]]'', by French feminist writer and theorist [[Monique Wittig]], which describes a rebellious young girl's experiences in a convent school.


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline}}
*{{Commons-inline}}


* Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964–1980. ''Flora Europaea''.
{{More footnotes|date=January 2010}}
{{reflist}}

{{cite web | title=Opoponax (sweet myrrh)| work=Scents of the Earth | url=
http://www.scents-of-earth.com/opoponax.html | accessdate = 2005-12-15}}


{{Taxonbar|from=Q13560912}}
[[Category:Apiaceae]]
[[Category:Perfume ingredients]]
[[Category:Incense]]


[[es:Opopanax]]
[[Category:Apioideae]]
[[fr:Opopanax]]
[[pt:Opopanax]]
[[sv:Opopanax]]

Latest revision as of 23:15, 22 March 2021

Opopanax chironium
Plant of Opopanax chironium
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Opopanax
Species:
O. chironium
Binomial name
Opopanax chironium
Synonyms[1]
  • Dorema chironia (L.) M.Hiroe
  • Laserpitium chironium L.
  • Maspeton chironium (L.) Raf.
  • Opopanax bulgaricus Velen.

Opopanax chironium, common name Hercules' all-heal,[2] is a herb of the family Apiaceae.

Subspecies[edit]

  • Opopanax chironium subsp. chironium
  • Opopanax chironium subsp. bulgaricum (Vel.) N.Andreev[3]

Description[edit]

Opopanax chironium grows 1–3 metres (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) high.[4] This perennial herb has a branching stem, thick and rough close to the base. Leaves are serrate, pinnate, with long petioles. It produces a large, flat, yellow inflorescence at the top of the branches.[5][6]

Uses[edit]

A gum resin (mostly gum) known as opopanax can be extracted from this plant by cutting at the base of a stem and sun-drying the juice that flows out. It has a strong unpleasant odor, unlike the perfumery's opopanax which is aromatic.[4]

Flowers of Opopanax chironium

The resin has been used in the treatment of spasms,[5] and, before that, as an emmenagogue, in the treatment of asthma, chronic visceral infections, hysteria and hypochondria.[4] Opopanax resin is most frequently sold in dried irregular pieces, though tear-shaped gems are not uncommon.[5]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

The plant thrives in warm climates like Iran, Italy, Greece and Turkey, but also grows in cooler climates.[2][5] Some view opopanax grown in cooler climates as being of inferior quality.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
  2. ^ a b "Opopanax chironium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  3. ^ Catalogue of Life
  4. ^ a b c Remington, J.P.; Wood, H.C. (1918). The Dispensatory of the United States of America (20th ed.). Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company. p. 1526.
  5. ^ a b c d Botanical
  6. ^ Enciclopedia Treccani
  • Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964–1980. Flora Europaea.
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