Nitraria retusa

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

Nitraria retusa is a succulent, thorny shrub growing to 1–2 m, with fleshy, grey-green leaves. In spring it bears tiny whitish-green flowers, followed by small, red, edible berries with a salty-sweet taste. It grows on the saline soils of coasts and salt flats, where it traps windblown sand to form distinctive mounds (nebkhas). It tolerates both drought and periodic flooding with salt water.

Significance in the country

Ghardak is one of the most important shrubs of Kuwait’s coastal salt flats, and its mounds shield the coast from erosion. Its fruits feed migrating birds resting by the bay.

Where it grows

It grows on salty coasts and salt flats – around Kuwait Bay (including the Sulaibikhat reserve and the northern shore of the bay), on Bubiyan Island and along the southern coast.

More: Wikipedia (en)