الوسم: trees

On a four-hour drive along the western coast going from south to north, you will see the saline sabkha flats of Abu Dhabi turn into sandy plains dotted with halophyte vegetation like Salsola imbricata and Zygophyllum mandavillei with a few stunted Tamarix. All these halophytic plants have their methods of dealing with the high levels of salt in the soil. The tamarix excretes the salt on its needlelike leaves whilst the succulents store it in the fluids of their globular leaves. In sheltered lagoons along much of the Gulf coast mangroves (Avicennia marina) are home to many species of birds and fishes.

Where low sandy hillocks start to appear, grasses like Panicum turgidum and Pennisetum divisum become abundant, while Haloxylon salicornicum is present throughout most of the coastal (and also the inland) sandy plains. The delicate fruitwings of this plant, which appear in December, can turn the roadside into a feast of translucent whites, pinks and purples. In some places the sabkhas have dense vegetation where grey-leaved Atriplex leucoclada sets off the intricate yellow branches of Halocnemum strobilaceum, the white-flowering Heliotropium kotschyi and the maroon globular leaves of Halopeplis perfoliata. The fragile plumes of Sporobolus arabicus and the purple sprays of Limonium axillare complete a master’s palette of colours and textures. In spring the multi-coloured flowers of Moltkiopsis ciliata, the maroon seedheads of Cyperus arenarius and the yellow daisies Senecio glaucus form a continuous ground cover as far as the eye can see.

We are coming close to Dubai, and the sand is now more obvious, shimmering white between bushes of Cornulaca monacantha, Crotalaria persica, Calotropis procera and Taverniera spartea. Two of the three parasitic plants of the UAE are abundant in these sandy coastal strips: the pretty yellow/maroon desert hyacinth (Cistanche tubulosa) and the red thumb (Cynomorium coccineum), which the bedu like to eat. One of the most important plants in bedu folklore, arta or Calligonum comosum, is at home here – but it is under threat of local extinction in areas of intense grazing. Along the main highways strips of about ten metres wide have been protected from grazing by camel fences, placed there to prevent collision between the animals and speeding cars. Wherever the fences are intact, the arta thrives, showing off its brilliant red seedpod lanterns in early spring. But outside the fences hardly a live plant can be found, having been browsed to death by domestic stock. With the disappearance of the arta several species of nocturnal moths, whose larvae feed on it, are threatened. The importance of these moths to the pollination of desert flora is not yet understood, and it could be that the impact of their loss of food source will lead to a population crash with a much more far reaching impact upon desert flora throughout the region.
Tidal creeks cut into the coastline from Sharjah northwards. Mangroves are abundant, but low, and the landspits in between the creeks are covered with the same grasses and halophytes, that occur all along the coast. But these areas are also the last places where an abundance of the edible mushroom faqah still occurs. These fungi live in symbiosis with the small woody perennial shrub Helianthemum lippii . The extremely wet spring of 1995-1996 brought out the mushrooms in great multitudes – and local people in droves to collect them! Nearer to Ras al-Khaimah high sand-dunes with impressive ghaf (Prosopis cinerea ) forests come close to the coast. In the springtime these dunes are covered with the lovely ephemerals, Eremobium aegyptiacum , Silene villosa , Senecio glaucus , Malva parviflora and several Launaea species. A narrow gravel plain leads north of Ras al-Khaimah to the point where the high Musandam mountains descend straight into the sea.

The plains around Ras al-Khaimah are among the most fertile of the country and plantations prosper. Abandoned fields in the springtime have a special fascination for plant lovers. There are all the common favourites like Anagallis arvensis , Aerva javanica , Astragalus species , Lotus halophilus , Monsonia nivea and the bindweed Convolvulus arvensis . Aloe vera is an introduced species that has established itself as a ‘feral’ plant.

Towards the mountains the gravel plains are thick with stands of Prosopis juliflora , the indestructible mesquite, probably imported into the country in times long gone by. Starting from these plains, another four-hour drive leads through boulder-strewn Wadi Bih to a high pass, where some of the original montane flora can be found in those places where fences protect it against the voracious appetite of goats and donkeys. Dark purple Ixiolirion tataricum lilies, and bright blue irises vie for attention with the showy pink Gladiolus italicus and the strange Muscaris longipes. Smaller weeds, more commonly found in European meadows, also occur, including Vicia sativa , Galium setaceum , and strong-smelling herbs like Salvia aegyptiaca . Under overhanging large boulders tiny plants like the yellow Vicoa pentanema and the starry Spergula fallax stand side by side with the small white daisies of Anthemis odontostephana and the yellow globes of Matricaria aurea. The most conspicuous plants of these high plains are the thorny Astragalus spinosus bushes, the arabian almond Amygdalus arabicus and the graceful pink-flowering Moringa peregrina trees. A hairpin track with magnificent views zig-zags down into the steep-sided canyon of Wadi Khabb Shamsi, one of the sites of the strange Periploca aphylla , and leads into the Dibba gravel plains, where Acacia tortilis trees spread their flat-topped umbrellas. I have noticed a sort of symbiosis between this Acacia and Lycium shawii, the desert thorn. The latter, wherever it grows by itself, is often cropped into stunted shapes by domestic animals, and the only specimens that manage to thrive are those that grow between the protecting branches of the Acacia . The Acacia itself often shows a double umbrella: most of the tree, which is browsed by camels remains low and shrublike, but in the middle, where camels cannot reach, some branches have managed to grow out and reach their proper height to form the second umbrella.

The east coast road affords different views every few minutes. In some places the Hajjar mountains reach to the sea, while in other places extensive palm groves hide white-washed villages. The plantations are often bordered with lush vegetation including Abutilon pannosum , Pergularia tomentosa and Vernonia arabica , while the rocky passes in between have stands of the very common red-flowering Tephrosia apollinea , with here and there a bright yellow patch of the foul-smelling Haplophyllum tuberculatum and the inconspicuous Pulicaria arabica .

Tidal marshes extend inland from the main road in places just north of Fujairah, which lies in the widest stretch of gravel plain. In the south the coast road ends in one of the largest mangrove forests of southwestern Arabia, Khor Kalba, earmarked to become a nature reserve.