Euphorbia adenensis Deflers

No data

maintenanceAr.Item1 maintenanceAr.Item3

Balsam Spurge

In Omani studies: Miller & Morris (1988) wrote that: "This bush, which forms the dominant vegetation of the high plateaux [J: kutun] that catch the edge of the monsoon moisture as it is blown from the sea, was a plant of great local importance and had many uses. The latex which flows copiously from any part of the plant which is cut or damaged was of prime importance. It is called in Jibbali: sahaz etiskot (the same term as is used to describe the resin of the frankincense) and was collected in containers such as clay pots [J: kahfin] or old water- or milk-skins [J: jiferit], which once filled were tipped into another larger cooking pot. This was put on the fire, and with a little added water, was left to simmer over a low flame until the latex thickened. It was then poured out and left to dry. Before ... it has quite dried, lumps were extracted and were pulled, stretched and shaped into rough oblongs, which was the form in which the end-product was stored or sold. In this completed form it was known [J: ulle]. It was used mainly as a depilatory by women. A small piece would be broken off and chewed, and then the body hair plucked out by hand with the chewed piece of gum held between the fingers. It was also chewed as chewing gum, and was regarded as being useful in quenching thirst, as well as having the palliative side effects claimed for the chewing gum of commerce - being soothing and relaxing and stimulating the gastric juices. The leaves when new and moisture-laden, were formerly eaten in great quantities by herders and their families at the beginning of the rains, for at this time there was very little else to eat, and the livestock were in poor condition and half-starved and gave little or no milk until the vegetation brought up by the rains became sufficiently established to provide nourishing grazing and browse. The leaves have a fresh but pungent taste, the young leaves (called in J: zuxe, 'tender') being much milder than those which are more mature (called in J: hagel, 'tough'). (In the Canary Islands too the leaves are gathered and cooked as a green vegetable). The buds and fruit, [J: ga 'amut, DA: da 'amutti], which have a sharp peppery taste were also an important food source. The seeds only of the older fruit were eaten, after the fruit has been rubbed between the palms to extract them. Or the fruit could be roasted slowly over the fire, which rendered them less hot to the taste. All livestock browse the leaves when they are young and green. The latex also made an excellent adhesive, and was used in particular to repair the clay utensils that were used in earlier years: the cooking pots of all possible shapes and size [J: kahf: kahfin, kedaht: kidohte], the little baby feeding jugs [J: hansit], the water pots [J: zir, ersebet], the oil-lamps [J: meserd], the butter containers [J: medeluset], the frankincense burners [J: megmert], the coffe pots [J: ka adet] and little cups [J: fenebgen]: a repair carried out with this latex was resistant to heat and flame as well as being waterproof. It was considered to provide the very best glue for essential items, such as the handles for wood-cutting tools and choppers, often made from a cut down sword-blade. One sword-blade could make as many as three machete-blades, and the handles for these were made by cutting a slate of wood for each side of the lower half of the metal blade, then binding these tightly together round and round with strips of cloth soaked in the latex, and then covering this with a final layer of tether cut into strips and likewise smeared with the latex. This same method was also used in the making of the handle for the once widely used frankincense-cutting knife [J: munsuf]: layers of leather strips soaked in latex were wound around the handle, then squeezed in a firm grasp by the hand of the cutter so as to mould the handle to comfortably fit his or her individual hand. The latex was also used to soak cloths to bind a fracture - wooden supports were laid alongside the limb, and a splint made by binding them into position with cloths soaked in this and other kinds of latex, which set hard, rather like present-day plaster of Paris. An attempt was made to cure persistent thumb suckers of this habit by smearing their thumbs with this bitter latex, or more successfully, by mixing some hairs from a cows tail into some liquid latex, and then smearing the thumb with the mixture. If this was unsuccessful, branding the thumb lightly at the base of the nail nearly always worked. The hair and latex mixture was also put on the teats of livestock to wean their young". (Ref. Plants of Dhofar). In addition, Ghazanfar (2007) mentioned that: "The latex (which is exuded in copious amounts when a cut is made in the stem) has been traditionally used as a depilatory and chewing gum, the latter still sold in the markets in Salalah. The latex was also used as an adhesive. The leaves, buds and fruit have been used as a food source". (Ref. Flora of Oman, vol.2). Furthermore, Pickering & Patzelt (2008) stated that: "Sap used as an adhesive, to extract body hair, and as chewing gum". (Ref. Field Guide to the Wild Plants of Oman; 2008).

*Ghazanfar, S. (2007). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman, vol.2: Crassulaceae – Apiaceae. Meise, National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Scripta Botanica Begica, Vol. 36). ISBN 9789072619747 ISSN 0779-2387. *https://en.wikipedia.org *https://www.fishbase.in *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