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The Toothpick bullwort (Ammi visnaga) belongs to Apiaceae (the Carrot family). It is an annual or a biennial herb that is native to the Mediterranean coast and Iran. It is now naturalized in Japan and in the Americas. It grows in sunny grasslands and along roadsides, and can reach a height of around 1 m. The stem is upright and often branched. The leaves are several times pinnate compound, and the leaflets are thread-like. From June to July, a compound umbel is produced at the top of the stem, and it is full of small white five-petaled flowers. The fruit is an elliptic mericarp. This fruit is used in Chinese medicine as "ammi fruit", and has antispasmodic and diuretic effects, and is used to treat asthma, bronchitis and kidney stones. In Europe, it is said that the branches of this inflorescence were used as toothpicks in the past.
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