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8 plants worth knowing

United Arab Emirates

Most of the United Arab Emirates is sandy desert, with dunes in Liwa rising more than 200 m, where only the hardiest trees and shrubs survive. Mangrove forests and salt flats (sabkha) line the shallow, warm shores of the Persian Gulf, while the rocky Hajar Mountains rise in the east. Date palms have been grown in the oases of Al Ain and Liwa for thousands of years.

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

where it grows

  1. Ghaf 1

    tree · National tree of the United Arab Emirates

    Ghaf

    Prosopis cineraria

    The ghaf stays green even in the hottest summer – which is why it, rather than the palm, became the national tree of the Emirates.
  2. Date palm 2

    palm

    Date palm

    Phoenix dactylifera

    More than 40 million date palms grow in the Emirates – in the Al Ain oasis they are watered by channels thousands of years old.
  3. Grey mangrove 3

    tree

    Grey mangrove

    Avicennia marina

    The only mangrove that can cope with the salty, hot water of the Persian Gulf – its forests even surround the skyscrapers of Abu Dhabi.
  4. Arta 4

    shrub

    Arta

    Calligonum comosum

    In spring the leafless arta shrub is covered in red, fluffy fruits that look like flowers scattered across the dunes.
  5. Leptadenia pyrotechnica 5

    shrub

    Leptadenia pyrotechnica

    Leptadenia pyrotechnica

    The Bedouin used the dry twigs of this broom-like shrub to kindle fires – hence the name “pyrotechnica”.
  6. Christ’s thorn jujube 6

    tree

    Christ’s thorn jujube

    Ziziphus spina-christi

    Sidr is one of the few native trees of the Emirates – it gives shade, edible fruit and nectar for the country’s most prized honey.
  7. Henna 7

    shrub

    Henna

    Lawsonia inermis

    Henna adorns Emirati women’s hands before weddings and at Eid – the paste for painting the patterns is made from this shrub’s dried leaves.
  8. Umbrella thorn 8

    tree

    Umbrella thorn

    Vachellia tortilis

    Samr is the commonest tree of the Emirates’ gravel plains and wadis – its flowers give a dark, aromatic honey and its branches feed camels.