Formerly, the genus , belonging to the Thymelaeaceae, was generally considered to be the original plant, namely either  L., or  L. or  L. But in 1879 W. Dymock was able to prove that at least the Persian sarcocolla is the product of what he called  Dym. (Leguminosae). Widely known in antiquity, the drug practically disappeared from the European store of medicines, but, according to Meyerhof, it remained still well known in North Africa and Asia, especially in the drug market in Cairo.