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Selinum vaginatum

Selinum vaginatum C.B.Clarke, Fl. Brit. India 2: 700 1879. (Syn: Cortia vaginata Edgew.);
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India (W-Himalaya), Pakistan (Swat, Hazara), Jammu & Kashmir (Kashmir) as per Catalogue of Life;
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SEL-in-um — ancient Greek selinon (parsley OR celery) … compiled from the web
vaj-in-AH-tum or vaj-in-AY-tum — with a sheath … Dave’s Botanary
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commonly known as: bhutkeshi • Dogri: भूतकेसी bhutkesi • Garhwali: नेसरावलो nesrawlo, तग्गर taggar • Hindi: भूतबेरी bhutberi, भूतकेशी bhutkeshi, मुरा mura, नकली जटामान्सी nakli-jatamansi • Kashmiri: भूतकेशी bhootakeshi, पेशवारी peshavari, पुष्वारी pushwari • Kinnauri: मठोसल mathosal • Kumaoni: भूतकेश bhutkesh, मूर moor • Pahari: भूतजटा bhutjata, मठोसल mathosal • Sanskrit: बल्गना balgana, भूतकेशी bhutkeshi, हयग्रीव hayagriva, मुरा mura, मूर्वा murva
Names compiled / updated at https://dineshvalke.blogspot.com/2026/06/selinum-vaginatum-edgew-cbclarke.html
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Perennial herb with bipinnate leaves with lanceolate to ovate pinnatifid segments, prominent leaf sheath; involucre bracts 1-2 or lacking, linear; rays up to 30 with up to 12 pinnate involucel bracts longer than rays; fruit 5 mm long, 2 mm broad with winged ridges.

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VoF Week :: DV :: 02 AUG 12 – 1244 :: Vicatia-like plant at Valley of Flowers:  2 AUG 12
Valley of Flowers … about 11000 – 12000 ft

Habitat: sloping meadow
Habit: erect herb, about 1 m high; inflorescence about 4 – 6 inches across; flower about 2 – 2.5 mm across

I hope Selinum sp.

 

Many thanks … for the ID.
Was hesitant because the green leafy bract-like structure in this plant extends much more than found in another sighting … http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinesh_valke/7815334602/ … do the extent vary ?

Thanks … for this notification; revised the labels in flickr accordingly.

 

 

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Apiaceae Fortnight: Selinum vaginatum from Kashmir-GSJUNE31/40 : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (3)

Selinum vaginatum (Edgew.) C.B. Clarke in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 2: 700. 1879.

Perennial herb with bipinnate leaves with lanceolate to ovate pinnatifid segments, prominent leaf sheath; involucre bracts 1-2 or lacking, linear; rays up to 30 with up to 12 pinnate involucel bracts longer than rays; fruit 5 mm long, 2 mm broad with winged ridges.

Photographed from Herbal garden, Srinagar Kashmir on June 4, 2012

 

It looks different from Selinum vaginatum C.B.Clarke as per thread by … at VOF Week: Apiaceae sp– Selinum??? from VOF
Keys are available at Flora of Pakistan. 
Selinum vaginatum is very distinct in pinnate bractlets which are clearly visible in my images.

It is rather reverse: mine and … with pinnate bractlets S. vaginatum, … with simple white margined bractlets S. wallichianum.

Apiaceae Member for id from Hatu Peak Narkanda
Shot at height of about 3200 mts

Id Pls

To me it seems to be Selinum coniifolium (= S. tenuifolium)

Can this be Selinum wallichianum?

Means Selinum for Sure.

Selinum species so far in efi

I think close to images at Selinum wallichianum (DC.) Raizada & H.O. Saxena by …

 

It should be Selinum vaginatum as per feedback received from … in another thread.

 

 

 

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ID Please ATDEC2017/07 : 9 posts by 3 authors. 1 correct image.

Kindly identify this Apiaceae member
Hatoo, Narkanda (Shimla)
3400m
Octoner 2017

I hope Trachydium roylei

Sir, plants were 2-3 feet high, while they are less than 1 feet in Trachydium roylei.

Oh! Sorry. I think, I have mixed two specimens in this post. First photograph is different.

Thank you, … for igniting my urge to explore more on this. Now, I think, first photograph is of Selinum vaginatum.

Second and third appears to be Selinum tenuifolium.

Kindly through some light, wether my opinion is right or wrong?
Pl. check at
Yes …, you are right about first image

Second and third can’t be wallichianum as bractlets are dissected (clearly seen in second) not entire.

 

please help me to identify the following species
Species for Identification –
location – Deothachi, Mandi District, Himachal Pradesh  
Altitude- 2800-3200m

Apiaceae ?

… as for previous image, I repeat it is always much more difficult and time-consuming to reliably identify a plant when there is only a single image and there is insufficient close-up detail of floral parts and foliage.  Some species within a genus can be distinctive enough and readily matched but it is always useful to have “supporting evidence”.  PLEASE, on future occasions take and submit many more images per specimen, in good focus and close-up – if you refer to my web-site on the flora of the NW Himalaya (see: https://sites.google.com/a/shpa.org.uk/fowh/impatiens-1) this will offer extensive advice; do look through the whole site but first see the images taken of Impatiens glandulifera showing much greater detail, obtained using a modest compact digital camera.As you can see, the images provide vastly more information – which I view as “clues”, the equivalent to pieces in a jig-saw puzzle.  The more pieces, which one can view clearly, the easier it is to arrive at an identification and the greater confidence one has in it.  Otherwise one can readily end up with a misidentification.  Too many data-bases, whether digital or old-fashioned printed ones, just with text or pictures, are littered with misidentified plants, which contributes to confusion and misleads.
The photo above is definitely a member of the Apiaceae family (previously known as Umbelliferae).  This is a difficult family identification-wise, especially when detail is missing or the specimens are immature – at times mature fruits can be required to confirm an identification.  Much more study of this family is required.  Your single images fail to reveal important characteristics of the flowers and bracts plus one cannot tell what the lower leaves are like.  I do not currently have the time, nor can justify the time, trying to work out which genus it belongs to.  Perhaps other members of the group can?  At first glance it seems distinctive.  What seem to be Potentilla foliage is covering the base – it is important to examine the base/lower leaves of a plant and work out, at the time, which these are, so there is
not any confusion.  On quite a number of occasions I have seen posts on the efI data-base with comments showing that confusion had arisen as to which leaves

belonged to the flower photographed.  PLEASE photograph close-up, in good focus, much more detail incl. “undersides”.

Please check in Selinum (Apiaceae).

Pl. check

Thank u … it will be Selinum vaginatum

I think more closer to images at Selinum wallichianum (DC.) Raizada & H.O. Saxena

Do you have any other images ?

 

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yes Sir, i am sending other pic of d species 1 image- 2 MB.

On further scrutiny, I find you are right. It is Selinum vaginatum only as per images herein.
 

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VOF Week: Apiaceae sp– Selinum??? from VOF: This Apiaceae herb was looking very attractive, stout and healthy. Could this be Selinum vaginatum ??

Agreed on Selinum vaginatum

Selinum wallichianum (DC.) Raizada & H.O. Saxena as per feedback received from … in another thread.

I think it should be Selinum vaginatum C.B.Clarke only as per images, details and references herein.

bhut keshi. very nice images.
including the stipules hugging the flowerhead stalk?

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Names of Plants in India :: Selinum vaginatum (Edgew.) C.B.Clarke: 1 image.
Selinum vaginatum (Edgew.) C.B.Clarke

SEL-in-um — ancient Greek selinon (parsley OR celery) … compiled from the web
vaj-in-AH-tum or vaj-in-AY-tum — with a sheath … Dave’s Botanary

commonly known as: bhutkeshi • Dogri: भूतकेसी bhutkesi • Garhwali: नेसरावलो nesrawlo, तग्गर taggar • Hindi: भूतबेरी bhutberi, भूतकेशी bhutkeshi, मुरा mura, नकली जटामान्सी nakli-jatamansi • Kashmiri: भूतकेशी bhootakeshi, पेशवारी peshavari, पुष्वारी pushwari • Kinnauri: मठोसल mathosal • Kumaoni: भूतकेश bhutkesh, मूर moor • Pahari: भूतजटा bhutjata, मठोसल mathosal • Sanskrit: बल्गना balgana, भूतकेशी bhutkeshi, हयग्रीव hayagriva, मुरा mura, मूर्वा murva

known for: dried root, dried fruit

botanical names: Selinum vaginatum (Edgew.) C.B.Clarke … homotypic synonyms: Cortia vaginata Edgew. … and more at POWO, retrieved 25 June 2026

Bibliography / etymology / notes

Links listed as references in the notes below, may not remain valid permanently. Portals / websites have a tendency to re-organize / revise their content, leading to change in URLs of pages in their site. Some sites may even close down at their own will. The bits about the languages of India mentioned below are merely some bare facts gathered from the internet; just enough to satisfy curiosity about “where” could the listed names be best prevalent in India. All English transliterated names to be taken sensu amplo.

~~~~~ ENGLISH ~~~~~
written and spoken widely, in most parts of India
bhutkeshi
  • Flowers of India … (accessed: June 25, 2026)
  • Because this plant is an alpine wildcraft species endemic to India and parts of Pakistan/Nepal, no native English-speaking populations ever lived alongside it to give it a grassroots name. Trying to sell or buy it as “Indian milk parsley” in a local market would just result in blank stares; it is strictly known by the popular vernacular trade name bhutkeshi. The name translates to “ghost’s hair” referring to the dense, fibrous, hair-like remnants of old leaves covering the root base. It is frequently utilized in local spiritual rituals to ward off negative energies, hence the “bhut” or ghost prefix. … compiled from the web.
~~~~~ DOGRI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (डोगरी) … spoken in: Jammu & Kashmir … spoken by the Dogras
भूतकेसी bhutkesi
  • Sumeet Gairola, Jyotsana Sharma, Yashbir Singh Bedi – A cross-cultural analysis of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh (India) medicinal plant use – Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 155, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 925-986, ISSN 0378-8741 … (downloaded: Jan 29, 2022)
  • भूतकेसी bhutkesi and भूतकेशी bhootkeshi are orthographic variants. In day-to-day spoken dialects across Jammu, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, native speakers frequently flatten the श to स … compiled from the web.
~~~~~ GARHWALI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (गढ़वळि) … spoken in: Uttarakhand
नेसरावलो nesrawlo
तग्गर taggar
~~~~~ HINDI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (हिन्दी) … spoken in: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand
भूतबेरी bhutberi
भूतकेशी bhutkeshi, मुरा mura
नकली जटामान्सी nakli-jatamansi
  • Niranjan Chandra Shah – On the history, botany, distribution, uses and conservation aspects of Nardostachys jatamansi in India … (accessed: June 25, 2026)
  • नकली जटामान्सी nakli-jatamansi — Literally meaning “False Jatamansi”. In the herbal trade hubs of Dehradun, Rishikesh, and Tanakpur, local forest collectors heavily trade the roots under this direct title because it functions as the absolute primary commercial substitute/adulterant for critically endangered Nardostachys jatamansi. … compiled from the web.
  • orthographic variant: जटामांसी jatamansi
~~~~~ KASHMIRI ~~~~~
written in: Koshur (Perso-Arabic كٲشُر), Devanagari (कश्मीरी) … spoken in: Kashmir … other names for this language: Koshur
भूतकेशी bhootakeshi, पुष्वारी pushwari (or पुशवारी pushwari)
  • The Useful Plants of India (CSIR, Publications & Information Directorate)
  • पुष्वारी pushwari or पुशवारी pushwari — In North Kashmir’s high-altitude Kupwara district (specifically within the sub-alpine Machil/Machaal sector), there is a well-known, high-altitude border village and pasture tract named Pushwari (पुष्वारी / पुशवारी). Because Selinum vaginatum thrives extensively in the moist, alpine meadows of this exact geographical pocket, the local herdsmen, collectors, and traders nicknamed the herb after the locality where they gathered it in large quantities. … compiled from the web.
पेशवारी peshavari
  • Chaudhary A, Arjun, Devi S. An Overview of Selinum vaginatum – A Medicinal Plant Species: Broad Features, Phytochemical Constituents, and Pharmacological Action. Asian Pac. J. Health Sci., 2022;9(2):251-257. … (accessed: June 25, 2026)
  • The Historic Trade Route: Historically, high-altitude Kashmiri herbs collected along the line of control (near Kupwara and Gurez) were transported through the major trans-Himalayan trading corridors directly to the large, historic wholesale distribution markets of Peshawar (pre-independence India). … compiled from the web.
  • The Commercial Tag: In historical crude drug markets, raw roots were branded by traders according to their primary market clearing hubs. Roots sourced from the Kashmir-Pakistan borderlands that passed through this trade route were stamped and sold as “Peshavari” (or Peshawari) to denote their specific sub-alpine, highly aromatic quality. … compiled from the web.
  • The Twin Terms: This is why “Peshavari” is almost always listed as a twin trade name directly alongside “Pushwari” (the actual village where it is picked in Kashmir) in historical CSIR records and the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. … compiled from the web.
~~~~~ KINNAURI ~~~~~
oral language, written in: Devanagari (किन्नौरी) / Tibetan (ཀིནྣཽརཱི) … spoken in: Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh … many linguistic varieties … spoken by Kinnaura people
मठोसल mathosal
~~~~~ KUMAONI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari … spoken in: Uttarakhand
भूतकेश bhutkesh
  • ICAR – National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources – “Bhutkesh” Passport information of “Uttarakhand” State – Ministry of Agriculture (Govt. of India) … (accessed: June 25, 2026)
  • भूतकेश bhutkesh — a regional phonetic truncation dropping the trailing vowel sound of standard Hindi (भूतकेशी). This shift from शी to श reflects an intentional regional accent rather than a typographic error. … compiled from the web.
मूर moor
~~~~~ PAHARI (or PAHADI) ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (पहाड़ी), Perso-Arabic (پہاڑی) … variety of languages, dialects and language groups, spoken in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand
भूतजटा bhutjata
  • Parveen Kumar Sharma, N. S. Chauhan, Brij Lal, Amjad M. Husaini (India), Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva (Japan), Punam (India) – Conservation of Phyto-diversity of Parvati Valley in Northwestern Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh, India – Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Science and Biotechnology – Volume 4 Special Issue 1 2010, pp 47-63 … (accessed: June 25, 2026)
  • In wider North Indian botanical databases and classical texts, Bhutjata is a heavily shared moniker: Nardostachys jatamansi [↗], Corydalis govaniana [↗] … compiled from the web.
मठोसल mathosal
  • Srivastava, Ravi & Dixit, Pooja & Singh, Lav & Verma, Praveen & Saxena, Gauri. (2018). Status of Selinum spp. L. a Himalayan Medicinal Plant in India: A Review of Its Pharmacology, Phytochemistry and Traditional Uses. Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. 20. 10.2174/1389201020666181227150829. … (accessed: June 25, 2026)
  • Historically, some local populations applied Mathosal directly to the sister species Selinum tenuifolium (now considered Ligusticopsis wallichiana). However, because the roots of S. vaginatum and S. tenuifolium are heavily gathered interchangeably as commercial substitutes for Bhutkeshi and utilized together in traditional Dhoop (incense) preparation, मठोसल is widely accepted and documented as a shared vernacular name for both species across the Himachali Pahari language belt. … compiled from the web.
~~~~~ SANSKRIT ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (संस्कृतम्) … used all over India by priests and scholars
बल्गना balgana, भूतकेशी bhutkeshi, हयग्रीव hayagriva, मुरा mura, मूर्वा murva
  • PCIM&H Monograph Database Portal – The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (Part I, Vol. VI, 2008), Ministry of Ayush … (accessed: June 25, 2026)
  • The listed Sanskrit names are ancient; however, legally and officially anchoring them to definitive botanical species is achieved by modern scientists and Ayurvedic scholars with the help of the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API). The Government of India established the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) under the Ministry of AYUSH to eliminate chaos and prevent dangerous substitutions in commercial manufacturing [↗].
  • बल्गना balgana is an elusive name. It is not found in the standard general-vocabulary lexicons like the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia (DDSA) [↗], Learn Sanskrit [↗], ॥ विकिशब्दकोशः॥ [↗] or even FRLHT & NMPB’s Indian Medicinal Plants Database [↗]. The source of “balgana” in literature — Acharya Bhavamishra officially cataloged Selinum vaginatum under the name ‘balgana’ in the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu [↗].
~~~~~ KNOWN DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand
~~~~~ Created on: 11:34 25-06-2026 ¦ Last updated: 00:29 26-06-2026 (DD-MM-YYYY) ~~~~~

Identification request for the umbelferae family plant.: 3 images.
Location: Kupwara

Pl. check comparative images at Apiaceae
You can find out the genus from above, if not the species as a first step.

Check Selinum vaginatum

I can not see the details. May I request you to pl. post high resolution images and more images, if you have.
I think it looks different as per images at Selinum vaginatum C.B.Clarke
Pl. also check comparative images at Selinum.

For me it resembles with Selinum filicifolium

I do not think leaves and bracteoles match as per images at Ligusticopsis coniifolia
Pl. post high res. images. to check the details.

A comment at this post from …:
“it is Selinum vaginatum“

Looks good.
https://www.gbif.org/taxon/6YCV6

Yes, possible.

 

 

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References:
Updated on September 5, 2026

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