apple of Sodom

Etymology
+ + ; compare the common assumption that the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden was an apple. Possibly also imitative of +.

Noun

 * 1)  A gigantic tree supposed to have grown on the site of the destroyed cities Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 18–19 in the Bible), the apples of which would turn to ash and smoke once picked.
 * 2)  The fruit of the mythical tree.
 * 3) The mudar, a flowering plant, found from northern Africa to southeast Asia, which bears poisonous fruit.
 * 4) The bitter apple, colocynth, etc., a desert plant native to Asia and the Mediterranean Basin with extremely bitter flesh.
 * 5) A number of plants of the genus, the nightshades.
 * 6) The , a plant native to non-arid parts of Africa.
 * 7) The , a plant native to North America.
 * 8) The bitter apple,, or  , a plant native to sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and India.
 * 9) The  or devil's apple, a plant native to southern Africa that bears poisonous berries.
 * 10) The nipplefruit, a plant native to South America.
 * 1) A number of plants of the genus, the nightshades.
 * 2) The , a plant native to non-arid parts of Africa.
 * 3) The , a plant native to North America.
 * 4) The bitter apple,, or  , a plant native to sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and India.
 * 5) The  or devil's apple, a plant native to southern Africa that bears poisonous berries.
 * 6) The nipplefruit, a plant native to South America.

Usage notes

 * The mythological sense is often used figuratively, describing something that looks desirable but is worthless (see, for example, the 1834 quotation).

Translations

 * Galician: maceira de Sodoma
 * Portuguese: macieira de Sodoma


 * Czech: sodomské jablko, jablko Sodomské


 * Arabic: عُشَر
 * Burmese:
 * Czech: plchoplod otevřený, sodomské jablko
 * Danish:
 * Finnish: sodomanmadari
 * French:
 * German: Oscher
 * Gujarati:
 * Hebrew:
 * Hindi:
 * Korean: 소돔사과
 * Malayalam:
 * Persian:
 * Polish: mleczara wyniosła
 * Portuguese: algodão-de-seda, flor de seda
 * Russian: содо́мское я́блоко
 * Spanish: algodón de seda, flor de seda
 * Swedish: Sodomäpple
 * Tamil:
 * Telugu:


 * Fula: huytaare fowru, huytaare buru
 * Hausa: yalo
 * Kikuyu: mũtongu
 * Swahili: ndulele
 * Yoruba: igbo