Haplophyllum tuberculatum (Forssk.) A.Juss.
التيس. تفار التيس. شجرة البعوض، خميسة، سذاب، ضنان التيس، خزام الضبي
For people
- Eaten by people
- Not edible
- Toxic to people
- Toxic
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Not grazed
- Toxic to livestock
- Unknown
Edibility and safety notes
Not a food plant: this strongly aromatic rue relative is used only in folk medicine and as an insect repellent. It contains alkaloids and furanocoumarins, and the Omani field guide itself records its use to bring on menstruation and abortion, so pregnant women in particular must not take it. No documented poisoning case was found, but safety data are too thin to call it harmless. Livestock dislike it and leave it ungrazed; its toxicity to animals is not documented.
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Description
A perennial herb with a woody base, hairless or hairy, usually bearing glandular warts (tubercles), 30-40 cm tall, with a strong smell. Stems several, erect to ascending, simple or branched. Leaves simple, 1-5 cm long, with wavy, strongly rolled-back margins and conspicuous small tubercles; the lower leaves of sterile shoots obovate to oblong-spatulate and narrowed into a stalk, the upper leaves linear. Flowers yellow, bisexual, regular, up to about 1 cm across, in loose, forking, flat-topped clusters; sepals 5, minute; petals 5; stamens 10 with broadened, usually hairy filaments; ovary superior, 5-celled. Fruit a 5-lobed glandular-warty capsule 3-5 mm long, hairless or woolly. Seeds kidney-shaped, wrinkled. Flowers from March to April.
Habitat
Steppes and deserts, mostly in wadis; also sandy soils and rocky ground.
Distribution
North Africa, Sinai and the eastern Mediterranean through the Arabian Peninsula (including Oman) to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan; also northern Sudan.
Pastoral value
Not a grazing plant; livestock dislike it. Bundles of the plant are hung at the entrances of houses and animal pens to repel flies and biting insects.
Other uses
Traditionally used in Oman and the Gulf: infusions or decoctions were drunk to ease childbirth and for chest complaints, body pains, flatulence and stomach problems; leaf juice was applied for headache and arthritis; Bedouin used it for scorpion stings. It was also used as a diuretic and to bring on menstruation, and is reported to induce abortion, so it must not be taken in pregnancy. Bundles are hung at doorways and livestock pens to repel flies and biting insects. Laboratory studies report biological activity of its essential oil and alkaloids, but these are not proof of medical benefit or safety.
Sources
- الدليل الحقلي المصور للنباتات البرية في سلطنة عُمان (BOOK.pdf p.183)
- Qatar e-Nature — Sinan at-tais (Haplophyllum tuberculatum): 'not liked' as grazing; traditional uses — enature.qa
- Pharmacognosy Journal 2016 — Haplophyllum tuberculatum: volatile oils, alkaloids and furanocoumarins — phcogj.com
- Journal of HerbMed Pharmacology 2016 — review of Haplophyllum tuberculatum — herbmedpharmacol.com
- Oman Observer — An age old herb: Snan altais — omanobserver.om
- The Genus Haplophyllum Juss.: Phytochemistry and Bioactivities — A Review (Molecules 2021) — ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Pl@ntUse PROTA: Haplophyllum tuberculatum — plantuse.plantnet.org(PROTA)
- PubMed listing: Haplophyllum tuberculatum toxicity — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov