Euryops arabicus Steud. ex Jaub. & Spach
حيقالن، حنقالن
For people
- Eaten by people
- Unknown
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Not grazed
- Toxic to livestock
- Unknown
Edibility and safety notes
No record of people eating this shrub was found; it is known only as a folk-medicine plant in south-western Arabia (applied for pain, inflammation and skin injuries), which does not make it a food. Its safety when swallowed is not established. Livestock do not graze it: the field guide lists it as not a grazing plant and it is described as unpalatable, persisting where other shrubs are overgrazed.
This guide is a hobby project, not expert advice. Never eat a wild plant, or feed it to animals, on the strength of this page alone. Read the disclaimer
Description
A small, much-branched shrub of rounded outline, about 50 cm tall according to the field guide (other sources give up to 2 m). Branches are covered with the bases of old leaves. Leaves are linear, stalkless, hairless, up to 40 mm long, alternate but crowded towards the branch tips. Flower heads are yellow, about 1 cm across, with marginal ray florets and central tubular florets, borne at the branch tips. The fruit is cylindrical, ribbed and hairy, with a pappus of short dull-white hairs.
Habitat
Rocky ground and mountain slopes; in Oman a mountain species, elsewhere in Arabia found in montane woodland and dry shrubland.
Distribution
Arabian Peninsula (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen), Socotra, Somalia and Djibouti.
Pastoral value
Not grazed; reported to be unpalatable to livestock.
Other uses
Traditionally used in folk medicine in the south-western Arabian Peninsula for pain, inflammation and skin injuries.
Sources
- الدليل الحقلي المصور للنباتات البرية في سلطنة عُمان (BOOK.pdf p.40)
- Plants of the World Online - Euryops arabicus Steud. ex Jaub. & Spach — powo.science.kew.org
- Wikipedia - Euryops arabicus — en.wikipedia.org
- PMC - wound-healing study of Euryops arabicus (traditional uses in the Arabian Peninsula) — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Meso.cloud - Euryops arabicus (Oman record, Hajar Mountains) — meso.cloud
