Arar

A conifer whose root burls are turned by the craftsmen of Essaouira into famous, gleaming boxes of thuya wood.

A small evergreen tree of the cypress family, with flattened, jointed twigs covered in scale-like leaves and small cones made up of four scales. It grows on dry, sunny slopes and hills, often on limestone, and copes well with drought and fire – it is one of the few conifers that resprout from the stump after being cut or burnt. Its trunks were tapped for sandarac resin, used in varnishes, and its root burls yield beautifully figured wood. It is the only species in its genus and grows mainly in north-west Africa, with small populations in Spain and Malta.

Significance in the country

Morocco has the largest arar forests in the world, and inlaid objects made from its wood, known as thuya, are the flagship product of Essaouira’s craftsmen. The tree is also an important feature of the landscape of the hills and lower mountain slopes.

Where it grows

On the hills and lower mountain slopes of northern and central Morocco – from the Rif and the Oriental region, across the Zemmour-Zaer plateau, to the High Atlas; extensive forests grow around Essaouira and in the Anti-Atlas.

More: Wikipedia (en)