NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Spikenard

Spikenard (also nard and muskroot) is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of India and Nepal. The plant grows to about 1 m in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. Spikenard rhizomes (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic, amber-colored essential oil. Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and an herbal medicine said to fight insomnia, flatulence, birth difficulties, and other minor ailments. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families may not be a complete list Dipsacaceae (teasel family) Valerianaceae Morinaceae Linnaeaceae Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle family) Diervillaceae Adoxaceae (elderberry family) The Dipsacales are an order of flowering plants, included within the asterid group of dicotyledons. ... Genera Centranthus Fedia Nardostachys Patrinia Plectritis Valeriana Valerianella The Valerianaceae, or Valerian Family, is in order Dipsacales. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Augustin Pyrame de Candolle (February 4, 1778 - September 9, 1841) was a Swiss botanist. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Binomial name Valeriana officinalis L. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis, Valerianaceae) is a hardy perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers. ... Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... In botany, a rhizome is a horizontal, usually underground stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. ... An essential oil, also known as volatile oil and ethereal oil, is a water-immiscible liquid produced by distillation from plant material that is used in perfumes, cosmetics, incenses, and in medicine. ... Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, a fixative, and alcohol used to give parts of the human body and sometimes other objects a long-lasting and pleasant smell. ... Incense is a preparation of aromatic plant matter, often with the addition of essential oils extracted from plant or animal sources, intended to release fragrant smoke for religious, therapeutic, or simply aesthetic purposes as it smolders. ... A sedative is a drug that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), which causes calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... The term Herbalism refers to folk and traditional medicinal practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. ...

In this icon, Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus with spikenard oil.

The oil was known in ancient times and was part of the Ayurvedic herbal tradition of India. It was obtained as a luxury in ancient Egypt, the Near East, and Rome, where it was the main ingredient of the perfume nardinium. It is mentioned twice in the biblical love poem, the Song of Solomon (1:12 and 4:13). In Mark 14 and John 12, Mary, sister of Lazarus uses nard oil to anoint the head or feet of Jesus (depending on which account). Today spikenard is not used as widely as the oil of many of its valerian relatives. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Savior Not Made By Hands (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) An icon (from Greek εικων, eikon, image) is an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine, such as God, saints or deities. ... Ayurveda (आयुर्वेद Sanskrit: ayu—life; veda—knowledge of) or ayurvedic medicine is a more than 2,000 year old comprehensive system of medicine based on a holistic approach rooted in Vedic culture. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that existed in Europe between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. ... Song of Solomon is also the title of a novel by Toni Morrison. ... The Gospel of Mark is the second in the familiar sequence of the New Testament Gospels, as they were established by Jerome and appear in many but not all early manuscripts of complete gospels, and as they are commonly printed. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the sequence of the canon as printed in the New Testament, and scholars agree it was the fourth to be written. ... Mary anoints Jesus in Bethany in this icon. ... To anoint is to apply perfumed oil. ... The neutrality and accuracy of this article are disputed. ...