Author:
Jan Scholten
Book:
Qjurious
Type:
Info
Chapter:
3-655.67.14
Salvadora persica
English: Arak; Galenia asiatica; Meswak; Miswak; Peelu; Pīlu; Salvadora indica; Toothbrush tree; Mustard tree.
Content: trimethylamine; alkaloid salvadorine; chlorides; sulfur; terpenes; vitamin C; glycosides; large amounts of fluoride and silica; small amounts of tannins, saponins, flavonoids and sterols.
Botany: small tree; crooked trunk; bark scabrous and cracked, whitish with pendulous extremities; root bark similar to sand and the inner surfaces are an even lighter shade of brown; pleasant fragrance; warm and pungent taste; leaves break with a fine crisp crackle when the foot falls over them; native to the hottest, driest areas of the Middle East.
Culture: ancient, majestic and sturdy trees associated with graveyards in Pakistan.
Use: chewing stick, toothbrush.