lāserpīcĭum

I. a plant, also called silphium, from which the laser was obtained, Plaut. Rud. 3, 2, 16; id. Stich. 2, 3, 11; Col. 6, 17, 7; Plin. 19, 3, 15, § 38; also the juice of the silphium, id. 20, 13, 51, § 141.