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10 plants worth knowing

Mongolia

Mongolia has an extremely continental climate with freezing winters, short summers and little rainfall, so treeless landscapes dominate. In the north, in the Khentii Mountains and around Lake Khövsgöl, grow larch forests of taiga and forest-steppe; the centre of the country is taken up by vast grassy steppes grazed for millennia by nomads’ herds, and the south by semi-deserts and the Gobi Desert with its saxaul. Forests cover less than 10% of the country.

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

where it grows

  1. Siberian larch 1

    tree

    Siberian larch

    Larix sibirica

    The Siberian larch makes up most of Mongolia’s forests – in autumn it turns the mountainsides of the north golden.
  2. Scabiosa comosa 2

    perennial · National flower of Mongolia

    Scabiosa comosa

    Scabiosa comosa

    In summer the lilac heads of this scabious light up the Mongolian steppe – it is Mongolia’s national flower.
  3. Black saxaul 3

    shrub

    Black saxaul

    Haloxylon ammodendron

    The saxaul is the “tree” of the Gobi Desert – leafless, with wood so heavy that it sinks in water.
  4. Stipa capillata 4

    grass

    Stipa capillata

    Stipa capillata

    Feather grasses rippling in the wind are the essence of the Mongolian steppe and the basis of grazing for horses, sheep and goats.
  5. Sea buckthorn 5

    shrub

    Sea buckthorn

    Hippophae rhamnoides

    Orange chatsargana berries are Mongolia’s “vitamin bomb” – sea buckthorn juice is drunk here as commonly as apple juice is in Europe.
  6. Siberian pine 6

    tree

    Siberian pine

    Pinus sibirica

    In autumn Siberian pine cones are gathered in the taiga of the Khentii and Khövsgöl – the roasted nuts are a favourite Mongolian snack.
  7. Savin juniper 7

    shrub

    Savin juniper

    Juniperus sabina

    Mongolians use the smoke of juniper twigs, called arts, to cleanse gers, ovoo and Buddhist temples – they believe it purifies from all evil.
  8. Asian white birch 8

    tree

    Asian white birch

    Betula platyphylla

    Alongside the larch taiga, white birch woods are among the most common forests of northern Mongolia – they quickly regrow after fires and felling.
  9. Fringed sagebrush 9

    perennial

    Fringed sagebrush

    Artemisia frigida

    Silvery agi sagebrush smells like wormwood on the Mongolian steppe – one of the most important fodder plants for sheep, goats and camels.
  10. Siberian elm 10

    tree

    Siberian elm

    Ulmus pumila

    Lone elms in the dry riverbeds of the Gobi may be the only trees for dozens of kilometres – herders treat them with respect.