''Maerua crassifolia'' is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

in the

Capparaceae The Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the caper family, are a family of plants in the order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, the family contains 33 genera and about 700 species. The largest genera are ''Capparis'' (about ...

family. It is native to Africa, tropical Arabia, and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, but is disappearing from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. Foliage from this plant is used as fodder for animals, especially camels, during the dry season in parts of Africa. The plant grows commonly in Yemen, where it is called ''Meru''. In the 18th century the plant's

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

name ''Meru'' () was used as the source for the genus name ''Maerua''. The 18th-century taxonomist was

Peter Forsskål Peter Forsskål, sometimes spelled Pehr Forsskål, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forskål or Pehr Forsskåhl (11 January 1732 – 11 July 1763) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish explorer, orientalist, naturalist, and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Earl ...

, who visited Yemen in the 1760s. It is used as a common nutrition source in central Africa, where it is called ''jiga'' and made into soups and other dishes. It was part of the daily diet of the Kel Ewey tribe of the tuaregs in the Aïr Mountains as late as in the 1980s, who would mix the cooked leaves with goat milk. ''Maerua crassifolia'' was considered sacred to the ancient Egyptians.

Distribution

Maerua crassifolia has been found growing along the

Tsauchab The Tsauchab is an ephemeral river in the Hardap Region of central Namibia. Its source is in the southern Naukluft Mountains, from where it flows westwards through the Namib-Naukluft National Park into Sossusvlei, an endorheic basin. The lower ...

river in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

at the following geo coordinates: 24°38'42.6"S 15°39'06.9"E.

References

*Cook, J.A. et al. (1998). Nutrient content of two indigenous plant foods of the Western Sahel: ''Balanites aegyptiaca'' and ''Maerua crassifolia''. ''Journal of Food Composition and Analysis'' 11:3 221–30.

External links

Botanical Information

crassifolia Flora of Africa Flora of North Africa Flora of Western Asia Flora of Morocco Flora of Israel Flora of Palestine (region) Flora of Yemen Flora of Niger Flora of Egypt Crops originating from Africa Edible plants Taxa named by Peter Forsskål {{Brassicales-stub