Camelthorn

Alhagi maurorum is a legume known as camelthorn, Caspian manna and Persian mannaplant. This shrub is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to many other regions. It grows from a massive rhizome system, and new shoots can appear some distance from the parent plant. Above ground it forms a heavily branched, grey-green thicket with long spines along the branches. It bears small bright pink to maroon pea flowers and brown or reddish pods, constricted between the seeds, which hold mottled brown beans. It does best beside a source of water, such as an irrigation ditch, and tolerates saline, sandy, rocky and dry soils. Outside its native range it is a noxious weed and a contaminant of alfalfa seed. In folk medicine it has been used for glandular tumours, nasal polyps and bile-duct complaints, and as a sweetener. The page says the Quran mentions it as a source of sweet manna, and that in Iran a decoction has been used for jaundice.