Description

Saussurea lappa, the costus or kuth plant, is a large perennial herb of the family Asteraceae, endemic to the high-altitude alpine meadows of the western Himalayas — principally Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and the Karakoram — between 2,500 and 4,000 metres elevation. The massive tap root, which may reach two kilograms in weight, carries a characteristic warm, earthy, camphoraceous fragrance derived from sesquiterpene lactones including costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone. Referenced in the Charaka Samhita as Kushtha, it appears also in Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica, Pliny’s Naturalis Historia, and ancient Arabian trade records as an article of significant commercial value transported westward via the Silk Route. It is currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.