Land of Israel

Some biblical commentators believe that the Sodom apple may have been the poisonous gourd (or poison-tasting gourd) that led to "death in the pot" in the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 4:38–41). In this story, a well-meaning servant of the prophet Elisha gathers herbs and a large quantity of the unknown gourds, and casts them into the pot. After the outcry from the band of prophets, Elisha instructs them to cast flour into the stew pot, and they are saved.^[5]

In 1938, botanists Hannah and Ephraim HaReuveni, authors of "The Squill and the Asphodal" (and parents of Noga HaReuveni), speculated that Jeremiah's ar‘ar/arow‘er was the Sodom apple.^[6][7]

The fibre of the Sodom apple may have been used for the linen of the high priests.

Flower and fruit

The fruit is described by the Roman Jewish historian Josephus, who saw it growing near what he calls Sodom, near the Dead Sea: "...as well as the ashes growing in their fruits; which fruits have a color as if they were fit to be eaten, but if you pluck them with your hands, they dissolve into smoke and ashes."^[8]

Sodom apple is listed in the Mishnah and Talmud. The fibers attached to the seeds may have been used as wicks. However the Mishnah forbids this for the Sabbath:^[6] "It may not be lighted with cedar-bast, nor with uncombed flax, nor with floss-silk, nor with willow fiber, nor with nettle fiber. – Sabbath Chapter 2"^[9]

In his Biblical Researches in Palestine, American biblical scholar Edward Robinson describes it as the fruit of the Asclepias gigantea vel procera, a tree 10–15 feet high, with a grayish cork-like bark called 'osher by the Arabs. He says the fruit resembled "a large, smooth apple or orange, hanging in clusters of three or four." When "pressed or struck, it explodes with a puff, like a bladder or puff-ball, leaving in the hand only the shreds of the thin rind and a few fibers. It is indeed filled chiefly with air, which gives it the round form; while in the center a small slender pod runs through it which contains a small quantity of fine silk, which the Arabs collect and twist into matches for their guns."^[4]

Bedouins of the Sinai and Negev traditionally made use of the fibers of this plant for making skull-caps (tagiyah).^[10]

West Indies

The plant is known to occur throughout the tropical belt and is also common in the West Indies (e.g. Jamaica), where the locals know it as "pillow cotton".^[11] When the ripe "apples" burst, the fibrous contents are ejected along with the seeds.

South Africa

The giant milkweed is used for fibre and medicine in Southern Africa, but it rapidly invades subsistence agricultural fields reducing yields. The plant is poisonous if eaten by livestock. It thrives in the hot northern regions of Limpopo Province. This plant is also found along road verges and in drainage lines.^[12]

Australia

In Australia, it is a weed of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland.^[13] It is thought to have arrived in the Northern Territory via the seeds which have tufts of silky hairs: the silky material (originating in Africa or Asia) having been used as padding in camel saddles.^[14]

In the Northern Territory, it is found on alluvial plains, ephemeral watercourses and run-on areas. It also occurs on red earth plains and heavy soil plains.^[15]