PlantsMap

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5 plants worth knowing

Kuwait

Kuwait is a flat desert plain with one of the hottest climates on Earth – in summer temperatures exceed 50°C, and rainfall amounts to only about 100 mm a year. Even so, after the winter rains the desert briefly turns green, and low shrubs such as arfaj and rimth dominate the sandy plains. Salt marshes and salt flats stretch along the shores of Kuwait Bay and on Bubiyan Island.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Arfaj 1

    shrub · National flower of Kuwait

    Arfaj

    Rhanterium epapposum

    Arfaj is Kuwait’s national flower – after rain its yellow flower heads light up the grey desert.
  2. Date palm 2

    palm

    Date palm

    Phoenix dactylifera

    In a country with no rivers and almost no rain, the date palm is the most important tree – it grows on the farms of Al Abdali and Al Wafra.
  3. Rimth 3

    shrub

    Rimth

    Haloxylon salicornicum

    The leafless rimth shrub, which looks like a clump of green sticks, is the commonest plant of the Kuwaiti desert.
  4. Cyperus conglomeratus 4

    herbaceous plant

    Cyperus conglomeratus

    Cyperus conglomeratus

    The stiff tussocks of this desert sedge bind shifting sands and keep Kuwait’s roads from being buried.
  5. Nitraria retusa 5

    shrub

    Nitraria retusa

    Nitraria retusa

    On the salty shores of Kuwait Bay, ghardak shrubs build mounds of sand, and birds feed on their red berries.