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I wonder if we'll ever chance across some silphium with enough genetic data to revive it in one of these archeological finds. I've always found that story fasci

I wonder if we'll ever chance across some silphium with enough genetic data to revive it in one of these archeological finds. I've always found that story fascinating and I'd love to see the mystery solved one day.

rcme 4y ago
Wow, I hadn't heard of that, but what a fascinating plant. Apparently, it's seeds or fruits may have been heart-shaped, and it was used as an aphrodisiac, which may be the reason why we associate the heart shape with love.
- dmckeon 4y ago
  It is also thought to have been a contraceptive and abortifacient.
wpietri 4y ago
Interestingly, even many of the plants with modern descendants were very different in centuries previous. Ryan North gave a talk at the Long Now Foundation recently with an interesting bit on how much selective breeding has changed food. It starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQg9YPSfAxg#t=29m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQg9YPSfAxg#t=29m Especially interesting to me were the images of watermelon from painted still lifes over the centuries. It was clearly a very different fruit to the one we know today.
- karmelapple 4y ago
  I’ve heard about the watermelons, but it seems to be debunked. See this HN comment from awhile ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23643871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23643871 (But I love Ryan North)
  - wpietri 4y ago
    Thanks! You should let him know, as he gave this talk very recently.
refuse 4y ago
There's a scientist that thinks they found some live silphium: https://allthatsinteresting.com/silphium https://allthatsinteresting.com/silphium
satvikpendem 4y ago
Some people posit that it's just another varietal of asafetida.
6177c40f 4y ago
My understanding is that we don't even know for sure if it went extinct. We just don't know what it actually was/is. There's been a number of extant species that people have proposed as being silphium, but it's very hard to say if any of them actually are, and if so, which.

rcme 4y ago

Wow, I hadn't heard of that, but what a fascinating plant. Apparently, it's seeds or fruits may have been heart-shaped, and it was used as an aphrodisiac, which may be the reason why we associate the heart shape with love.

dmckeon 4y ago
It is also thought to have been a contraceptive and abortifacient.

wpietri 4y ago

Interestingly, even many of the plants with modern descendants were very different in centuries previous. Ryan North gave a talk at the Long Now Foundation recently with an interesting bit on how much selective breeding has changed food. It starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQg9YPSfAxg#t=29m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQg9YPSfAxg#t=29m Especially interesting to me were the images of watermelon from painted still lifes over the centuries. It was clearly a very different fruit to the one we know today.

karmelapple 4y ago
I’ve heard about the watermelons, but it seems to be debunked. See this HN comment from awhile ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23643871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23643871 (But I love Ryan North)
- wpietri 4y ago
  Thanks! You should let him know, as he gave this talk very recently.

refuse 4y ago

There's a scientist that thinks they found some live silphium: https://allthatsinteresting.com/silphium https://allthatsinteresting.com/silphium

satvikpendem 4y ago

Some people posit that it's just another varietal of asafetida.

6177c40f 4y ago

My understanding is that we don't even know for sure if it went extinct. We just don't know what it actually was/is. There's been a number of extant species that people have proposed as being silphium, but it's very hard to say if any of them actually are, and if so, which.