PlantsMap

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8 plants worth knowing

Libya

More than 90% of Libya lies in the Sahara, and only a narrow coastal strip receives regular rainfall. The richest vegetation is found on Jabal al Akhdar – the Green Mountain in Cyrenaica – covered in juniper maquis and wild cypresses; in the west the olive groves of the Jafara plain dominate, while deep in the desert life is concentrated in the oases of Fezzan.

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

where it grows

  1. Date palm 1

    palm

    Date palm

    Phoenix dactylifera

    In the oases of Fezzan and Jufra dates were the staple food for centuries – Libya has millions of date palms.
  2. Olive 2

    tree

    Olive

    Olea europaea

    Roman Tripolitania was famed for its olive oil, and the olive groves of the Jafara plain and the Nafusa Mountains are still Libya’s most important orchards.
  3. Phoenician juniper 3

    shrub

    Phoenician juniper

    Juniperus phoenicea

    The commonest shrub of the Green Mountain in Cyrenaica – Phoenician juniper forms extensive scrub on its limestone slopes.
  4. Mediterranean cypress 4

    tree

    Mediterranean cypress

    Cupressus sempervirens

    The Green Mountain is home to some of Africa’s few wild cypress forests – made up of trees with widely spreading branches.
  5. Colocynth 5

    herbaceous plant

    Colocynth

    Citrullus colocynthis

    The bitter, round fruits of the colocynth lie on the sand like abandoned balls – one of the best-known plants of the Libyan desert.
  6. Barley 6

    crop

    Barley

    Hordeum vulgare

    Barley flour makes bazeen – a dense, dome-shaped dough served with a spicy sauce and regarded as Libya’s national dish.
  7. Carob 7

    tree

    Carob

    Ceratonia siliqua

    Carob trees on the green slopes of Jabal al Akhdar give sweet pods that Libyans boil down into a thick syrup.
  8. Lotus jujube 8

    shrub

    Lotus jujube

    Ziziphus lotus

    The thorny lotus jujube covers the steppes of northern Libya – its fruit is sometimes identified with the lotus eaten by Homer’s Lotus-eaters.