Lascarum

Lascarum was a plant that was cultivated and harvested in Cyrenaica. It's primary use was as a contraceptive and an abortifacient, but could also be used as a fragrance, food item, seasoning or medication. It was the main crop of trade in Cyrenaica and worth it's weight in gold. When used in food, it had an anise-like flavor with the flowers demonstrating a sharper taste than the bark and bulb.
It is usually credited with a sweet but astringent flavor that people love or hate. It's seeds are frequently used as seasoning in certain kinds of wine or sweets, particularly in a candy enjoyed in Cyrenaica and Ruum where it is mixed with copious amounts of sugar and gelatin. The bulb could be eaten after being roasted or cooked in oil.
The poet, Flavius Pulcrus Aurelius once remarked: Only the bitterness of love ended is stronger than the bite of Lapscarum
For contraceptive purposes, approximately half of tablespoon of bark were seeped in a cup of boiled water for several minutes. The mixture had to be taken daily at approximately the same time each day. As an abortifacient, in addtion to the bark mixture, the leaves of five plants had to be used. The quantities had to be monitored carefully in order not to cause irreparable harm. Because of the high cost of Lascarum, these mixtures were only available to the exceedingly rich. Apothocaries would usually dilute Lascarum flowers with the flowers of other yellow plants in order to recoup a larger profit.

Basic Information

Anatomy

At full growth the plant is a cubit to a cubit and a half high with a thick, black, ribbed stalk and miniscule, bright, yellow flowers that grow in bunches.

Growth Rate & Stages

The flowers can be harvested

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

The plant is very rare, growing only near the rocky coast of the sea in the region of Cyrenaica.