Calotropis procera
Calotropis procera is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae that is native to North Africa, Pakistan, tropical Africa, Western Asia, South Asia, and Indochina. The green fruits contain a toxic milky sap that is extremely bitter and turns into a gluey coating which is resistant to soap. Common names for the plant include Apple of Sodom, Sodom apple, king's crown, rubber bush, and rubber tree. The names "Apple of Sodom" and "Dead Sea Apple" stem from the ancient authors Josephus and Tacitus, who described the plant growing in the area of biblical Sodom. History and traditional uses 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 (). 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. In 1938, botanists Hannah and Ephraim HaReuveni, authors of "The Squill and the Asphodal" (and parents of Noga