Talk:Calotropis procera

Talmud Mention
There is a unquoted direct quote from a source that claims that the Apple of Sodom is mentioned in the second chapter of Talmud Shabbat. On a read through, it is clear that none of the plants are the Apple of Sodom. [Talmud 20a: Ceder, flax, silk, willow bast, nettle], and in fact the source itself translates them the way I have. Thus, it is unclear what the source is talking about, and as it is a direct quote, I would assume we need to change it or violate copyright. I deleted this, but it was restored. Please advise. 96.238.211.171 (talk) 07:45, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Untitled
the above wouold seem to be wrong, or at any rate misleading: references to an 'apple of sodom' or a 'dead sea fruit' go back to Jewish historian Josephus ("B. J." iv. 8, § 4) and Tacitus ("Hist." v. 6) who refer to a fruit growing near the site of Sodom, "externally of fair appearance, but turning to smoke and ashes when plucked with the hands." This has been identified by Seetzen, Irby, Mangles, and others (see especially Robinson, "Biblical Researches in Palestine," ii. 235-237) with the fruit of the Asclepias gigantea vel procera, a tree from ten to fifteen feet high, of a grayish cork-like bark, called 'osher by the Arabs. It is found also in upper Egypt and in Arabia Felix; in Palestine it is confined to the borders of the Dead Sea. The tree resembles the milkweed or silkweed found in the northern part of America. "The fruit," says Robinson, "resembles externally a large, smooth apple, or orange, hanging in clusters of three or four together, and when ripe is of a yellow color. It was now fair and delicious to the eye and soft to the touch; but on being 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." It is difficult to say whether the passage in the song of Moses, "their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter" (Deut. xxxii. 32), refers to a similar fruit (see Herzog, "Real-Encyklopädie," xi. 748, under "Palestina"). (see image) Tree of Sodom, Showing Shape of Leaf, Flower, and Apple.(From a photograph by the Palestine Exploration Fund.)A. K. It may be that the name Solanum sodomaeum was given to another plant -- not geographically connected with the Biblical -- on the basis of some similarity which the redactor of the previous entry does not dwell on.

Indeed this seems wrong, and I am taking the liberty of breaking the connection. In Hebrew this fruit is called "Tapuach Sdom" and it refers to the description above.

But on the other hand, the link: http://www.botanic.co.il/a/picshowh.asp?qcatnr=CALPRO&qseqnr=CALPRO2, sais that the English name of the above plant is Giant Milkweed.

--Pmg 15:45, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

SO in which family is it???
on the SAME page, it is assigned to the Apoc. in one place and Asclep. in another!
 * I think Apocynaceae is the correct family since Asclepiadoideae is a subfamily. I have made the correction.  Deli nk (talk) 19:52, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

The "Detailed chemistry" part is FAR too much
This special-interest part is Chinese to all but chemistry college students and professional chemists. Also: no source is indicated! Pls, add a source and cut it down to a tenth. The linked source should satisfy chemistry buffs, who will be able look up all the details - nobody else needs them. This is Wikipedia, not a treatise of organic chemistry. If that doesn't happen, sooner or later it will all be removed, and rightfully so. Thank you. Arminden (talk) 17:16, 7 January 2020 (UTC) PS: the material comes from an anonymous editor who only made |this one edit way back in 2010. I tried to write to him. Good luck to us :) So soon I'll feel bold enough and throw most of it out. Arminden (talk) 17:50, 7 January 2020 (UTC)