Pteropyrum scoparium Jaub. & Spach
سيداف، السيداف
For people
- Eaten by people
- Edible
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Limited fodder
- Toxic to livestock
- Unknown
Edibility and safety notes
The fresh sour leaves and young green shoots are a traditional food in northern Oman: crushed or chopped raw and eaten with dried fish, onion, lemon, chilli and salt, added to traditional dishes, or used as a seasoning. No poisoning is reported, but there are no human safety studies, so its safety is not established; eat only small amounts as a condiment. The Omani field guide says livestock browse it and rates it good fodder, but no independent livestock data were found. The shrub is declining in some wadis, so pick sparingly.
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Description
A shrub of the Polygonaceae family with few leaves arranged alternately or in bundles. Flowers are small and bisexual with five tepals. Fruit has three broad wings. Abundant during rainy and winter seasons.
Habitat
Wadi beds, rocky wadi slopes, gravel plains and foothills of the Hajar Mountains, mostly at low elevations.
Distribution
Hajar Mountains of northern Oman and the United Arab Emirates, where it is regarded as a regional endemic; some databases also list Iran and other Gulf States.
Pastoral value
Good fodder value according to the Omani field guide.
Other uses
Fresh leaves are eaten with dried fish, onion, lemon and salt, added to traditional Omani dishes and used as a seasoning; the sap of the stalks is used to curdle milk. Traditionally used for indigestion and as a 'blood purifier', and a cooled decoction of the leaves is applied to swollen, bruised feet. Extracts have shown antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in laboratory studies.
Sources
- الدليل الحقلي المصور للنباتات البرية في سلطنة عُمان (BOOK.pdf p.168)
- Oman Observer — Sidaf: A local plant with multiple uses — omanobserver.om
- Journal of King Saud University – Science (2024) — Phytochemical screening and antioxidant/antimicrobial efficacy of Pteropyrum scoparium (Sidaf) extracts — jksus.org
- Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants of the UAE (Dept. of Health Abu Dhabi) — Pteropyrum scoparium / سيداف — medicinalplants.doh.gov.ae
- UAE National Red List — Pteropyrum scoparium — nationalredlist.org
- Potential Antioxidant Effects of Common Omani Ethnobotanical Plants (AGRIS record) — agris.fao.org
- Potential Antioxidant Effects of Common Omani Ethnobotanical Plants (PMC11699577) — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Wikipedia - Pteropyrum — en.wikipedia.org
