The plant, which has white lace-like flower clusters, has a large distribution through Southern Europe, North Africa and West and Central Asia, though it is hypothesized to be native to the Nile River Valley.

[citation needed] The plant has also been introduced into China, where it is called da a min qin (Chinese: 大阿米芹) and cultivated in medicinal farms.

[14] In Egypt around 2000 BC, the juice of Ammi majus was rubbed on patches of vitiligo[15] after which patients were encouraged to lie in the sun.

[16] In the 13th century, vitiligo was treated with a tincture of honey and the powdered seeds of a plant called "aatrillal," which was abundant in the Nile River Valley.

[16] The practice of using Ammi majus to treat vitiligo implicitly acknowledges the hyperpigmentation effects caused by exposure to a photosensitizing agent (such as methoxsalen) followed by ultraviolet radiation.