Tetraena simplex (L.) Beier & Thulin
ثرمد، قرمل، زريجة
For people
- Eaten by people
- Unknown
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Limited fodder
- Toxic to livestock
- Unknown
Edibility and safety notes
No reliable source documents this plant as human food: the Useful Plants database lists 'edible uses: none known', and only folk-medicine uses (eye wash from leaves and seeds, seeds against worms) are recorded. The site's earlier 'edible' label could not be supported, so do not eat it. The Omani field guide rates it as poor grazing that animals take only after it has dried. No data on toxicity to people or livestock were found; a related species (Zygophyllum coccineum) has caused diarrhoea in camels.
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
An annual halophytic herb 8-20 cm tall, profusely branched and glabrous. Stems are pale green or purplish, minutely striate. Leaves are succulent, simple, sessile, oblong-cylindric, 4-18 mm long. Yellow flowers fading to white, 4-5 mm across with spathulate petals.
Habitat
Desert and dry shrubland habitats, sandy and saline environments. Tolerant of high temperatures, drought, and salinity. A halophyte with salt resistance.
Distribution
Native to Cape Verde, Sahara to Tanzania, northwest India, Angola, and South Africa. Found throughout North and Northeast Africa, Arabia, and east to India.
Pastoral value
Poor grazing; taken by livestock after the plant has dried.
Other uses
Traditionally an infusion of the crushed leaves and seeds in water is applied to the eyes for eye inflammation (ophthalmia), and the seeds are used to expel intestinal worms. It has also been used in Arabian folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory. These are traditional uses, not medical advice.
Sources
- الدليل الحقلي المصور للنباتات البرية في سلطنة عُمان (BOOK.pdf p.203)
- Useful Temperate Plants — Zygophyllum simplex (edible uses: none known; medicinal uses) — temperate.theferns.info
- Flora of Qatar — Zygophyllum simplex / Tetraena simplex — floraofqatar.com
- UAE National Red List — Tetraena simplex (LC, 2019) — nationalredlist.org
- Wikipedia — Zygophyllum simplex (secondary) — en.wikipedia.org
- POWO — Zygophyllum simplex L. (native range; seen in search results) — powo.science.kew.org
- USDA Poisonous Plant Research — camel poisoning incl. Zygophyllum coccineum (related species; search result) — ars.usda.gov
