Caroxylon imbricatum (Forssk.) Moq.

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Overlapping-Flowers Saltwort
Fetid Saltwort

In Omani studies: Miller & Morris (1988) wrote that: "These two plants (Suaeda fruticosa & Salsola imbricata) are discussed here as an example of the sort of plants whose ash was used as snuff [J: ensa 'it, nisket], or to stretch and make more acrid the snuff made from powdered tobacco. A variety of plants (especially saline ones) were used for this, plants such as DA: humdeh, kelkol, thameh and so on. The general term used to refer to most saline plants in Dhofar is humdeh, and it is intersting that Maimonides also gave 'hamd' as a synonym for various Salsola and Suaeda species. Tobacco leaf was always in short supply, either due to the expense of the imported leaves - which had to come by boat from further along the coast or overland by camel - or due to the ban which was at one time placed on the ... use of tobacco. Attempts were made to grew it locally, especially in the areas of better and deeper soil, such as Wadi Darbat and some of the land in the eastern mountains around Tawi Atair. However, the locally grown tobacco was never 'hot' enough for local tastes, and anyway was extremely hard to grow successfully, the would-be cultiators lacking the necessary years of experience and expertise in growing it, quite apart from having to cope with an annual three months of mist and rain. However, escaped tobacco plants can still often be seen growing in some areas of the mountains. Due to this shortage of tobacco, a wide variety of substitutes have been tried out over the years, of which these two are a representative sample. Snuff was taken for a number of reasons other than those of physical gratification and pleasure. It was taken to relieve a headache or a stuffy head cold [J: sedemit], to improve poor sight, to hasten the birth process, and to calm nervous symptoms such as tremors, fits or hysteria. The taking of snuff was equally important in relieving emotional pain, such as that resulting from the death of a close friend or family member, or the pain of an unsuccessful or unhappy love affair and so on. It was often taken to treat the illness called [J: sewadit], a blanket term used to describe a variety of symptoms, often of emotional or psychological origin, such as hysteria, attacks of dizziness and breathlessness, hysterical paralysis and so on. The snuff was often tied into The corner of the headdress or shawl and sniffed repeatedly as a remedy for attacks of nausea and giddiness. It was very popular with women, in particular the more mature or elderly woman, and was regarded as being beneficial to the whole body, clearing the head and stimulating the brain. Such snuffs were also on occasion added to pipe tobacco, smoked in the small, white stone pipes [J: fijjir], manufactured locally, to make the flavour 'hotter'. (Ref. Plants of Dhofar).

*Ghazanfar, S. (2003). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman, vol.1: Piperaceae – Primulaceae. Meise, National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Scripta Botanica Begica, Vol. 25). ISBN 90-72619-55-2 ISSN 0779-2387. *https://en.wikipedia.org *https://casabio.org *Miller, A., Morris, M. (1988). Plants of Dhofar, the Southern Region of Oman: Traditional, Economic, and Medicinal Uses. Published by Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, Sultanate of Oman; ISBN 10: 0715708082 ISSN 13: 9780715708088. *Miller, A.G. & Cope, T.A. (1996). Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra 1: 1-586. Edinburgh university press. ISBN 0748604758. *POWO (2023). ""Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org