Ligusticum is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the family Apiaceae

Apiaceae

The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...

, native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

. Its name is believed to derive from the Italian region of Liguria

Liguria

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...

.

They are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species including Mouse Moth

Mouse Moth

The Mouse Moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a very widespread species with a Holarctic distribution.This is a rather drab but distinctive species. The forewings are uniform dark brown with three blackish spots arranged in a triangle. The hindwings are buffish, darker towards the...

 which has been recorded on L. scoticum.

Species

• Ligusticum ajanense
• Ligusticum apiifolium
  Ligusticum apiifolium
  Ligusticum apiifolium is a species of plant in the carrot family known by the common names celery-leafed lovage and celery-leaf licorice-root. It resembles other carrot-like plants, bearing umbels of whitish or brownish flowers....
  
  - Celeryleaf Licorice-root
• Ligusticum brachylobum
• Ligusticum calderi - Calder's Licorice-root
• Ligusticum californicum - California Licorice-root
• Ligusticum canadense - Canadian Licorice-root
• Ligusticum canbyi - Canby's Licorice-root
• Ligusticum filicinum - Fernleaf Licorice-root
• Ligusticum gingidium
• Ligusticum grayi
  Ligusticum grayi
  Ligusticum grayi is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Gray's licorice-root. It is native to the western United States from Montana to California, where it grows in moist mountainous habitat, such as meadows and forest floors. It is a carrotlike perennial...
  
  - Gray's Licorice-root
• Ligusticum holopetalum
• Ligusticum hultenii
• Ligusticum huteri
  Ligusticum huteri
  Ligusticum huteri is a species of flowering plant in the Apiaceae family. It is endemic to Spain.The plant's natural habitats are a Mediterranean-type Garrigue shrubby vegetation, and on rocky shores. Ligusticum huteri is a threatened plant species due to habitat loss.-References:* Mayol, J. &...
  
  
• Ligusticum ibukicola
• Ligusticum jeholense
• Ligusticum monnieri
• Ligusticum mutellina - Alpine Lovage
• Ligusticum mutellinoides - Small Alpine Lovage
• Ligusticum porteri - Osha or Porter's Licorice-root
• Ligusticum scoticum - Scots Lovage
• Ligusticum sinense - Gaoben 藁本
• Ligusticum tenuifolium - Idaho Licorice-root
• Ligusticum vaginatum
• Ligusticum verticillatum - Northern Licorice-root
• Ligusticum wallichii
  Ligusticum wallichii
  Ligusticum wallichii is a flowering plant in the carrot family best known for its use in traditional Chinese medicine where it is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs. It is known by the common names chuānxiōng and Szechuan lovage....
  
  - Chuānxiōng

Uses

The roots of two species are used as medicinal herbs. L. wallichii is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in Chinese herbology

Chinese herbology

Chinese Herbology is the theory of Traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in Traditional Chinese medicine ....

, where it is called chuānxiōng (川芎); in English, Szechwan Lovage. L. porteri

Osha

Osha or oshá is a perennial herb. Osha grows in parts of the Rocky Mountains and northern Mexico, especially in the southwestern United States.-Common names:...

(Osha) is used in Western herbal medicine.

Both Ligusticum sinense and L. jeholens Essntial Oils contain natural antimicrobial and
antioxidant agents.
Ligusticum wallichii (Ligusticum) root or L. porteri

Osha

Osha or oshá is a perennial herb. Osha grows in parts of the Rocky Mountains and northern Mexico, especially in the southwestern United States.-Common names:...

(Osha) root can be soaked in ethanol

Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

 (whisky

Whisky

Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...

, vodka

Vodka

Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....

, etc.) for at least a month. The resulting tincture

Tincture

A tincture is an alcoholic extract or solution of a non-volatile substance . To qualify as a tincture, the alcoholic extract is to have an ethanol percentage of at least 40-60%...

 is an effective, though pungent, liniment

Liniment

Liniment , from the Latin linere, to anoint, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Preparations of this type are also called balm...

for sore muscles that can be stored (in a cool place) indefinitely.