Silphium (also known as
silphion,
laserwort, or
laser) was a plant that was used in
classical antiquity as a seasoning and as a medicine. It was the essential item of trade from the ancient North African city of
Cyrene, and was so critical to the Cyrenian economy that most of their
coins bore a picture of the plant. The valuable product was the plant's
resin (
laser,
laserpicium, or
lasarpicium).