Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad.

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Desert Squash, Bitter Squash
Colocynth
Colocynth Melon
Bitter Apple
Bitter Cucumber
Vine of Sodom
Wild Gourd
Bitter Paddy Melon

Numerous medicinal properties are claimed, including use as laxative and to relieve the pain of scorpion stings. (Ref. Field guide to the wild Plants of Oman). Well known and used as a purgative in traditional medicine in Arabia since early times; also used as a poultice for bites and stings. (Flora of Oman; vol. 2). The leaves are not liked by livestock, but goats eat the immature fruit hile they are still bright green if there is little else to feed on, or if they are very thirsty. The green fruit were also used to remove the hair from a fresh hide. The fruit were crushed and the paste was rubbed onto the skin side of the hide, which was then buried for the appropriate length of time, according to the age and type of the animal slaughtered. The juice and pulp of an immature fruit has been used as ... an abortifacient as a last resort, but this was recognised as being a severely painful and dangerous solution, since it could cause violent vomiting and acute blood -stained diarrhoea. The flesh and seeds are indeed known to be exteremely potent, causing violent griping and bloody discharge with severe inflammation of the bowel - even one and a half teaspoonsful of the powdered seeds has been known to be fatal. However, a small amount of the diluted juice was occasionally taken as a rather drastic purge to treat severe constipation, or to clean out the stomach of a patient suffering from long standing pain in the stomach which had not responded to other less drastic treatments. Once ripened to a bright yellow, the fruit look rather like a cluster of yellow balls left lying on the ground, since by this stage most of the vegetation has disappeared and died back. However, childern are discouraged from playing with the fruit, since if they burst open, they can cause inflammation and watering in the eye. The fruit are sometimes known as "hyenas' cucumber '' , in other words, of no benefit or positively harmful to humans, and also to differentiate them from the fruit of cucumis sativus, which are called 'cows cucumber' , which are eaten greedily by cattle and are consequently of very much use to humans. In the north of Oman, the fresh leaves were applied to the site of scorpion stings and other insects bites to relieve the pain and itching. The seeds were crushed and made into a poultice to treat tumours and fistulae after these had been cauterized. The green flesh of mature fruit was also taken in small quantities as a purgative. (Ref. Plant 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://www.merriam-webster.com *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. *POWO (2023). ""Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org