- Have you taken aspirin long ago? It is the most known and used drug in the world for over a century. Its component is acetylsalicylic acid, discovered in 1853, from salicylic acid found in 1838. The origin of the famous drug was acid extracted from the root of a plant. Sauces and mimbres (Salix spp) are rich in this salicylic, hence the name of the acid, but the name of aspirin has another origin, another plant.
It's called Burdilinda. The roots that gave rise to salicylic acid were theirs, with threads or roots in the form of threaded canisters or tubers. Hence comes the burdilinda hanging from a thread, or what is the same Filipendula, the Latin filum "thread" and the pendulum "pendant", which are hanging tubers joined by a thin root. Initially, instead of the genus Filipendula, it was classified in the genus Spiraea and hence aspirin. The 1991 publication of the prestigious encyclopedia Quid de Domenique Fremy says: The scientific name of aspirin, registered by Bayer in 1899, derives from the prefix “A” (indicating acetylation of acetyl) and the abbreviations “spir” Spirsaüre (in German “acid spirea”) and “ine” (classical suffix of industrial chemistry).
In the Basque Country there are two species of the genus Filipendula: the aforementioned burdilinda, also called semelore and semelili, and the Filipendula ulmaría known as “nascal” or “queen of the field” or “queen of the valleys”. The latter is called ulmaria (Ulmus spp.) It comes from your resemblance. Although Itziar, Galdames or Balmaseda can be found in the south of Euskal Herria, but the nasator lives throughout the territory on very wet grounds: aliseda (Alnus glutinosa), water regatta, molten scissors, mountain megaforbium…
It is called country queen or valley queen because it tends to prevail in wet grasslands, especially in those where livestock is not pasted or often sustained. If the grassland is abandoned, its dominion is fast and impoverishes the native flora. It has a strong roots, the chain of tubers mentioned, and it spreads easily. In turn, this aspirin-generating substance in the roots has a phytotoxic effect that harms the other plants surrounding it, preventing its development. The so-called “smell of the sporty costume” that you will hear if you crush that root is due to these components, which are part of the touches that athletes will use to cure blows and bruises. In the Journal of 02/08/1971 published in Baiona it says: “The nasalor is a good curator of rumatism, as it makes sweat and soothes 50 grams of paint in boiling water.” Awakening and closing; athletes…