Dioscorides' Plants, Then and Now
πράσιον

White horehound

Marrubium vulgare L. · Lamiaceae
Identification: ProbableNot endemic to GreeceConservation status not assessedLow-confidence model
Risk rank
17 of 32 (13–17)
Risk score
0.29(0.29–0.29)2 · Moderate
Low-confidence modelWhite horehound (Marrubium vulgare) has 236 occurrence records after cleaning; we require 30 for a reliable model. Maps are exploratory outlines only, and its rank carries a wide interval (13–17).

Then and now

2050 · moderate emissions. SSP2-4.5, 2041-2060, 3 climate models; ranges show the spread.

The plant
πράσιον
Photograph of Marrubium vulgare
Photo: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (photo of White horehound)
2050 · moderate emissions
Natural Earth (PD) · model output · ~10 km cells
Loading map layers (0 of 1)
Layers
Range keptLost by 2050Gained by 2050Cultivation zoneNatura 2000Occurrence cellCells ≈ 10 × 10 km

Exploratory map (low-confidence model). Occurrences are aggregated to ~10 km cells; exact points are never published. View range data as a table

De Materia Medica · Book III · ch. 105c. 50–70 CE
πράσιον
prasion
πράσιον, οἱ δὲ φιλοφαρές· θάμνος ἐστὶν ἀπὸ μιᾶς …
Modern identification
Marrubium vulgareL. · LamiaceaeProbable

Source: Wellmann 1906, vol. II p. 116.

Full citation and quoted evidence

Wellmann 1906, vol. II p. 116, III 105 RV: Romans call it μαρρούβιουμ (marrubium); Sprengel, K. 1830. Pedanii Dioscoridis Anazarbei De materia medica libri quinque, tomus secundus (Commentarius in Dioscoridem), Medicorum Graecorum Opera vol. 26, Leipzig, Comm. lib. III cap. CIX, p. 542 (Theophrastus' two kinds = Marrubium catariifolium Desr. and M. vulgare L.)

Opening words of the chapter (Wellmann numbering). Edition: Wellmann 1906-1914 (vol. I 1907, vol. II 1906), Berlin: Weidmann; transcribed by eye from the archive.org page scan (Wellmann's ϑ glyph rendered as θ; no emendation). See the page scan.

Modern official status

European Medicines Agency herbal monograph

Marrubii herba · category: traditional

We report regulatory status only and make no claim about effects. Read the monograph for its exact wording.

Open the monograph on ema.europa.eu

Projected range change by 2050

2050 · moderate (SSP2-4.5)+191% (+178 to +196%)
2050 · high (SSP5-8.5)+219% (+192 to +222%)

Median and spread across 3 climate models. Whisker axis −80% to +20%, dashed tick at 0; a chevron means the value runs beyond the axis.

Suitable cultivation area, 2050 moderate27,708 km² (25,027–29,040 km²)

Risk score breakdown

0.29 (0.29–0.29)Moderate risk class 2
00.51.0
  • Range loss 0.00 of max 0.40 · (0.00–0.00)
  • Endemism 0.00 of max 0.20 · not endemic
  • Conservation status 0.10 of max 0.20 · not assessed
  • Harvest pressure 0.20 of max 0.20

Stays in the top 10 in 1% of 1,000 random weightings.

How the score is built, and how sensitive it is to weights

Model quality

Low grade
AUC (spatial block CV)
0.66 ± 0.04
Distance-only baseline AUC
0.66 ours is higher (by < 0.005)
Boyce index
0.67 ± 0.23
TSS
0.30 ± 0.07
Occurrence records
236 after cleaning (of 314)

5-fold spatial block cross-validation (~25 km blocks); ± is one standard deviation across folds. Null model AUC 0.51. The baseline scores each held-out point by its distance to the nearest training record, on the same folds. "Standard" grade means ≥ 30 records, AUC ≥ 0.75 and above the baseline; fewer than 10 records is a data gap; anything else is low grade.

Suggested action

Cultivation opportunity

Climate-resilient candidate crop; cultivation can take pressure off wild collection. Resolve the data first.

Rule: Gains or keeps habitat · has a 2050 cultivation zone.

Where it could be grown

Identification through time

Who has matched πράσιον to which modern plant, from the Renaissance to today.

All names through time
Cited for the identification we modelProposed an alternativeAlternative preferred by our sourceAlternative rejected by our sourceCommonly proposed, not verified by us
Renaissance commentators
Linnaean botany & Flora Graeca
Edition
Modern
150016001700180019002000

Select a mark to read who proposed which plant, and the source we read it in.

Dates are each authority's main herbal or commentary (approximate, "c."), used to order the timeline. Claims are parsed from our curated identification table; every quote links back to a page scan or edition on the plant page.

Caveats

  • Identification is probable; results describe Marrubium vulgare L., which may not be the plant Dioscorides meant.
  • Low-confidence model: 236 thinned records (we require 30) or AUC below 0.75.

Range data (map alternative)

ScenarioSuitable ~10 km cellsChangeShare in Natura 2000
Now839—26.9%
2050 moderate1,638 (1,607–1,653)+191% (+178 to +196%)25% (24–25%)
2050 high1,728 (1,639–1,739)+219% (+192 to +222%)25% (25–25%)