Ferula assa-foetida, Ferula longifolia, Ferula narthex.

Ferula assa-foetida Linn. Umbelliferae. Asafetida. Food-of-ohe-Gods.

Persia and Afghanistan. Asafetida is called food-of-the-gods by the Persians, who hold the juice in high esteem as a condiment, eat the leaves as greens and the root when roasted. Gerarde says it is reported to be eaten in Apulia. The young shoots and heads are considered by the Khirgis as a great delicacy. The fetid odor disappears on boiling.

Ferula longifolia Fisch.

South Russia. The aromatic, long roots are esteemed as a vegetable.

Ferula narthex Boiss. Asafetida.

Baltistan. Kaempfer says that in Afghanistan and Khorassan there are two varieties, one called Kama-i-gawi, which is grazed by cattle and used as a potherb and the other called Kama-i-anguza, which affords the asafetida of commerce. Among the Mohammedan and Hindu population of India, the gum is generally used as a condiment and, in regions where the plant grows, the fresh leaves are cooked as an article of diet.

Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.