The iconic heart shape as a symbol of love is traditionally thought to come from the silphium plant, which was used as an ancient form of birth control.
Sonoran Conservative
Conservative of the Southwest and the musings of the day. – Murum Aries Attigit
Sonoran Conservative 
The ancients never figured out how to cultivate silphium, and could only collect wild plants. It was over-collected, and Nero ate the last known specimen during a banquet.
To this day it’s not certain what other plants silphium was related to, or even what the plant actually looked like. All we have are stylized depictions on coins. For all we know, silphium didn’t go completely extinct and is growing wild in North Africa today.
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