The flower of a lake carefully digs into the sandy ground and extracts the desert truffles, and as it displays it between its rough fingers, it says that it is better than God.
The 72-year-old woman added that the bulla grows when it rains, "and we sell and eat it, and it is better than God."
Defying the harsh weather conditions in the desert of southern Iraq, and the threat of landmines, she and her family of 7 spend weeks searching for seasonal truffles that have been a source of livelihood and a source of income for generations.
Truffle pickers collect up to $ 7 per kilogram this year, which is a cheap price when compared to the rare European truffles, which can be hundreds of dollars or more per kilogram.
But in light of the economic crisis in Iraq, internal diversity provides a great service to this citizen and her family.
The rain fell late this year and Zahra could only find one kilogram of truffles per day, a tenth of what she would collect in another year in better conditions.
Riam (5 years) accompanies her grandmother, turning stones and digging in the ground with bare hands, in order to learn the skill and get used to the desert lifestyle.
Her father Mohsen Farhan - who loves the weeks he spends with his family in their tent in the desert - explains that he and his family benefit from truffles as a source of livelihood in times when he has no other source of income, indicating that the truffles increase whenever there is seasonal rains.
Those who learn to hunt for truffles these days should also be aware of the dangers of the desert.
Abu Rayam says he is afraid of wolves and mines, warning that an inexperienced eye can simply mistake unexploded submunitions from the 1991 Gulf War and treat them as truffles.
Every few days, Hussein Abu Ali crosses the desert by car from Samawah to take truffles to the market.
In the market, Ali Taj al-Din sells it at auction.
The name of the truffle varies with size and color.
This citizen says, "This is mixed, and this is an orange, and the largest we call it a pomegranate, like this we call it a pomegranate."
Prices have jumped due to the scarcity this year.
Truffles that are not sold at home are exported to the wealthier Gulf states.
But customers at the "House of Wood" restaurant in Samawah relish eating truffles.
"We fry it or roast it, but the favorite dish is truffle with rice," said restaurant owner Fawaz Hatab.
Hussein Abu Shamma, a truffle dealer and customer at the restaurant, said he loves to eat truffles because they are natural, free of all chemicals, and grow through rain.