Dioscorides' Plants, Then and Now
γλήχων

pennyroyal

Mentha pulegium L. · Lamiaceae
Identification: CertainNot endemic to GreeceLC Least ConcernLow-confidence model
Risk rank
28 of 32 (21–28)
Risk score
0.19(0.19–0.19)1 · Low
Low-confidence modelpennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) has 266 occurrence records after cleaning; we require 30 for a reliable model. Maps are exploratory outlines only, and its rank carries a wide interval (21–28).

Then and now

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

The plant
γλήχων
Photograph of Mentha pulegium
Photo: Raffi Kojian · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (photo of pennyroyal)
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. 31c. 50–70 CE
γλήχων
glēchōn
γλήχων· πόα γνώριμος, θερμαντική, λεπτυντική, πεπτική. ποθεῖσα δὲ ἔμμηνα καὶ δεύτερα καὶ ἔμβρυα ἄγει· …
Modern identification
Mentha pulegiumL. · LamiaceaeCertain

Source: Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 510; Fraas 1845, p. 177; Osbaldeston 2000.

Full citation and quoted evidence

Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 510 (Comm. III cap. XXXIII): 'Pulegium est vulgaris notitiae, Mentha Pulegium, per omnem Europam temperatam vulgaris.' No competing candidate. Fraas 1845, p. 177: 'M. Pulegium L., stinkender Poley' = γλήχων Hippocr., γλήχων Diosc. 3,36, Plin. 20,14; modern γλυφόνι / βρομηδυόσμο; very common in damp lowlands (Attica, Argolis). Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 3-36 GLECHON: SUGGESTED Pulegium [Fuchs] ... Mentha pulegium [Linnaeus]. (https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx02/page/n511/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n222/mode/1up)

Opening words of the chapter (Wellmann numbering). Edition: Wellmann, Pedanii Dioscuridis Anazarbei De materia medica, vol. II (Berlin 1906), p. 40; read off the archive.org page image (item b21459162_0002) and cross-checked against two OCR layers; ϑ printed as θ. See the page scan.

No European Medicines Agency herbal monograph for this species.

Projected range change by 2050

2050 · moderate (SSP2-4.5)+18% (+6 to +30%)
2050 · high (SSP5-8.5)+31% (+16 to +49%)

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 moderate4,861 km² (3,060–7,445 km²)

Risk score breakdown

0.19 (0.19–0.19)Low risk class 1
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 0.00 of max 0.20 · LC · Least Concern
  • Harvest pressure 0.19 of max 0.20

Stays in the top 10 in 0% 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)
0.67 ± 0.05
Distance-only baseline AUC
0.61 ours is higher
Boyce index
0.40 ± 0.12
TSS
0.31 ± 0.09
Occurrence records
266 after cleaning (of 397)

5-fold spatial block cross-validation (~25 km blocks); ± is one standard deviation across folds. Null model AUC 0.49. 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 γλήχων 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
  • γλήχωνDMM 3.31 · pennyroyalMentha pulegiumCertain

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

  • Low-confidence model: 266 thinned records (we require 30) or AUC below 0.75.

Range data (map alternative)

ScenarioSuitable ~10 km cellsChangeShare in Natura 2000
Now508—24.2%
2050 moderate501 (472–576)+18% (+6 to +30%)26% (25–27%)
2050 high581 (486–627)+31% (+16 to +49%)25% (25–25%)