Ammi majus (L) Bullwort
NOMENCLATURE
Ammi: classical name.
majus : greater (comparative of magnus)
BSBI Picture Link to Ammi majus
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
TYPE : glabrous, glaucous annual.Th. STEMS : solid, striate. HEIGHT : 15~1OOcm.
UMBELS : 3-6 diam. Compound, terminal 9-40,slender, scabrid, subequal rays 3-7cm.
Peduncle > than rays. Hermaphrodite.
LEAVES : variable. Lower 1-2 pinnate, ovate to lanceolate, serrate, segments oblong
ovate or spathulate Upper 2-pinnate, with lanceolate to linear-pinnatifid acute segments.
All segments serrate, teeth end in cartilaginous point. Petiole widened to the sheathing
base. Cotyledons tapered at base, no petioles.
BRACTS : several, > than rays, leaf like, 3-tid to pinnatisect, linear lobes, some entire.
Bracteoles many, lanceolate, with long filiform apex and broad scarious margin=pedice1s.
FLOWERS : white. Outer. petals radiating. Styles form a stylopodium. F1.6-10.
FRUIT : 15-20mm, ellipsoid, compressed laterally, smooth. Commisure narrow.
Mericarps with slender, prominent ridges. Carpophore present. Vittae solitary. Pedicels
1-6 mm, slightly scabrid. Styles 2 x > as stylopodium, recurved. Stigma a small knob. 2n=22.
HABITAT : rubbish tips, waste places.
DISTRIBUTION : intro. Uncommon casual, wool alien. Native to
S.Europe, N.Africa, Asia Minor, Macronesia.
BSBI Distribution Map for Ammi majus
RELATED SPECIES
Ammi visnaga CL) similar, but rays thickened, erect after flowering, bracts deflexed.
Fl 8-10. 2n=20. Native to Mediterranean. Casual, waste places in England.
MEDICINAL USES
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS : psoralene
EFFECT : tonic, diuretic.
PARTS : seeds.
APPLICATION : psoralene stimulates pigment production in skin exposed to UV light.
Externally for vitilago, psoriasis. Excess causes nausea, diarrhoea, headaches
HISTORICAL MEDICINAL USES
Decoction of seeds taken after intercourse "preventh implant of ovum in
uterus". Gargle for toothache in Morocco
EXTERNAL LINKS FOR Ammi majus
These links to trusted websites and institutions may provide in depth or additional information regards cultivation, chemistry, edibility, images etc. for the species. Links last updated Aug 2012.
Wikipedia (UK) Plants For a Future (UK)
National Center for Biotechnology Information (USA)
Food & Agri Org of UN Green Ring Society (UNK)
'Online Guide To Umbelliferae Of The British Isles' Compiled By J.M.Burton 2002