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Cleome arabica
One of the most beautiful blooms in South Sinai, with quite possibly the foulest smelling leaves. The flowers are yellow and purplish-red with four petals.
coastal desert wadi, rocky
The Bedouin of the Jebelya tribe call this plant "jen-nee-na", which translates roughly as "a thing that maddens", because they believe that if their goats eat this plant, the animals become crazy.
2 Comments
It's the leaves that give off such a strong odor, you can smell the plant from a short distance. Smells to me vaguely of petrol. I wonder what it smells like to other critters.
Why would such an attractive flower smell badly.