Periploca aphylla Decne.

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Milk Broom

In Omani studies: Miller & Morris (1988) wrote that: "P. aphylla occurs widely throughout Dhofar, but more commonly in the drier areas. It flowers in the summer. The buds and central parts of the flowers are edible (like the much appreciated buds of Leptadenia pyrotechnica [DA: marx] that grows in the desert areas), but the pods are not eaten, except by livestock. It was an important fodder source during the dry season, or during the hard period at the beginning of the rains when other fodder was scarce. Herders went out to gather it and brought sackfuls back to livestock too weak to venture far in search of grazing at this time. Dried twigs and stalks, or thin slivers sliced from the main stems were fire-scorched then ground down to be taken as snuff, either on its own, or mixed with powdered tobacco. The whole bush was used ingeniously to ... clear waterholes of leeches, which were a great nuisance, especially to cattle, causing anemia, weakness and often a debilitating dry cough. A branch was put in the waterhole, and after a few days when the resident leeches had congregated around and on it, the branch was removed, left out in the hot sun to kill off the leeches, and then the water-flow into the pool was diverted, and the emptied waterwhole cleaned out and scraped clear of vegetation and left to dry out completely in the sun. Then the water was allowed to flow once more into the cleaned pool, and the branch was shaken to remove the dead leeches, and returned once more to the pool. An alternative method was to catch some of the tiny fish which inhabit the coastal lagoons [J: xor], and transport them to the waterholes in a leather or clay container and tip them into the pool. They ket the pool largely free of leeches, but care had to be taken in watering livestock not to let them drink too deeply and lower the level of the water below that necessary for the survival of the fish. The local name [J: ’órem] is also given to various Ochradenus species. The whole bush of P. aphylla was an important pen-building material, especially for young livestock and parturient female stock, as it provided a dense wall which kept out draughts and wind. The root of the plant is used by some specialists in the treatment of snakebite. In the north of Oman the roots were said to have been efficacious in affording protection against jinn, and the plant is called ‘ḥandabub’". (Ref. Plants of Dhofar). In addition, Richardson & Dorr (2003) mentioned that: "A variety of indigenous plant was used to coat the nets, and also strengthened and darkened them. Including the roots and stalks of Limonium axillare and Hydnora africana and the new growth from Periploca aphylla". (Ref. The Craft Heritage of Oman book). Further, Pickering & Patzelt (2008) stated that: "Used in Dhofar to clear pools of leeches which are attracted to the plant. Buds are edible. The roots are sometimes used for snakebite". (Ref. Field Guide to the Wild Plants of Oman; 2008). Furthermore, Ghazanfar (2015) wrote that: "The extract of plant or crushed plant has been used in traditional medicine to treat skin tumours and swellings to reduce pain". (Ref. Flora of Oman, vol. 3).

*Ghazanfar, S. (2015). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman, vol.3: Loganiaceae – Asteraceae. Meise, National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Scripta Botanica Begica, Vol. 25). ISBN 9789082352511 ISSN 0779-2387. *https://en.wikipedia.org *http://www.efloras.org *Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants. Fourth Edition. Cambridge University Press, UK. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3 ISSN 978-0-521-68553-5. *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. *Pickering, H. Patzelt, A. (2008). Field Guide to the Wild Plants of Oman. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. ISBN 9781842461778. *Richardson, N. Dorr, M. (2003). The Craft Heritage of Oman; vol. 1. Published by Motivate publishing. ISBN 1-86063-1576. *POWO (2023). ""Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org