[Sca-cooks] herb seasoning question

[Suey]

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise wrote:

> Er... True silphium went extinct during the Roman period during the 
> first century CE; a number of Roman texts refer to this fact. Asafoetida 
> was later used as a substitute, but it was still considered inferior. 
>
>   
You have me stuck here. I thought asafoetida was extracted from 
silphium. So I  can't understand texts saying it was extinct during the 
1st C CE.
Jadwiga/Jenne are answering in reference to my message in which I wrote:
    "In North Africa "it" was grown especially in Cyrene where "it" was 
cultivated for export."
So what was "it" that they could have been growing?
Suey