(calotropis procera)
As other plants in the Wadi Araba and the Jordan Valle, the Apple of Sodom is originated from Africa. It resists to drought, is evergreen and can bear salty grounds. It can reach 5m height. It has a ligneous stem and large leaves that can be 30 cm long, arranged in opposition along the stem. It has grouped hermaphrodite flowers with a white ...
...and purple calyx in 5 lobes. The pistil is shaped as an umbrella. It gives green and inflated fruits that remember apples. The mature fruits explode and deliver seeds embedded in a white fiber. The apple of Sodom is strongly poisonous and the locals avoid touching it. They say that the milky substance in the leaves and the stem can make somebody blind if it is in contact with eyes. Furthermore it could have an anticancer action.