Your guide to native plants

In our hot, arid climate, its so refreshing to have our own little oases of greenery. But all too often,
we plant our gardens with exotic, non-native plants, cultivated from species that grow in other parts
of the world. Plants like these need an awful lot of maintenance and a much greater dependency on
water. Because theyre non-native, theres a much higher risk that they wont thrive under our harsh
climate. Moreover, there is also a risk that they could become invasive, threatening native species and
upsetting the very delicate eco-balance of fragile UAE ecosystems.

Heres a list of native plants which you can cultivate instead. Municipality and Ministry of
Environment and Water plant nurseries can provide you with seeds or seedlings of the following
native species.

Trees
The Ghaf tree (Prosopis cineraria)
Recently adopted as the UAEs national plant, the Ghaf is incredibly hardy. It germinates very easily from
seed and grows fast five metres in two years. It needs to be staked until its about two metres high. It
should not be pruned or have its lower stem cleared of branches, but should be left to acquire its own
natural shape. Water deeply to encourage robust roots. It can be planted in groups, fairly close together.

The Sidr tree (Christs Thorn) (Ziziphus spina-christi)

This grows quickly and easily from seed, but it does have definite seasons of strong growth with two
rapid growth spurts each year, alternating with dormancy. It will need deep watering, quite frequently
in the growing season, which is usually April to July, and September to November. It should be allowed
to retain its natural multi-stemmed shape and umbrella-shaped canopy. Produces comestible brownorange olive sized fruits which consistency is like a ripe apple.

The Olive tree (Olea europea)

This is a slow growing tree that cannot be accelerated much. It has all the characteristics of a classic
desert plant: it doesnt like or require too much water, needs full sun, stony ground and hot conditions
and often grows at higher altitudes. Leave it to grow naturally through its initial bushy phase and it will

acquire interesting shapes. You can also stake and gently prune it to encourage a tree shape with one or
more upright trunks.

Other trees that would be suitable for local gardens:

Wadi Fig (Ficus cordata)
Maerua crassifolia
Orange Tecoma, Farfar (Tecomella undulate)

Wild Drumstick tree (Moringa peregrine)

Moringa seedling

Moringa adult

Moringa flower

Shrubs

Toothbrush Bush (Salvadora persic)

Tricky, but ultimately rewarding! Its fairly slow growing, sulks for a long time after transplanting, likes to
grow in its own way, without pruning, and will not take if its roots are disturbed. But it eventually grows
big and dense, with long fleshy branches growing out from the central bush like a starburst. And once
its well established, it can grow faster. This is a good screen plant which will hold shifting sand.

Other shrubs which would make good garden plants:

Very drought resistant bush that have attractive and comestible yellow flowers and that can be a nice
garden feature if well pruned.

Desert Thorn (Lycium shawii)

Samr (Acacia ehrenbergiana )

Dodonaea (Dodonaea viscosa)

White Saxaual (Haloxylon persicum )

Dwarf Palm (Nanorrhops ritchieana)

Arabian Almond (Amygdalus arabica)

Tamarix (Tamarisk) sp. including T. aphylla &T. nilotica are trees with an excellent resistance to salt.
Tamaryx aphylla

Tamaryx nilotica

Abal (Calligonum comosum) (Below) and Calligonum crinitum

Oleander, Rose Bay, Laurier Rose (Nerium oleander)

Contrary to the red or white varieties found in shops, the variety with pale pink flower is the native
species of the Hajar Mountains. Its leaves, flowers and wood are toxic.

Forbs

Desert Cotton, Kapok Bush (Aerva javanica)

A salt-tolerant desert bush which seeds itself prolifically. It does best in a sandy, limestone-derived
substrate but will tolerate a wide variety of substrates and little water. It looks best if its grown in a
large mass, in a bed which can be edged to give it a neater appearance, as it tends to have an untidy
shape. When the aerva flowers, its covered in flowering stalks with thousands of tiny, dense white
flowers, giving the whole plant the appearance of being dusted with snow!
After flowering, its growth is straggly until the new leaves come out. It will climb into lower branches of
trees, given the opportunity.

Turnsole (Heliotropium kotschyi)

A common desert bush which attains a more or less rounded shape. It has attractive, dark blue-grey
foliage which is fine and lacy in general appearance. The flowers are small, white, eye catching and long
lasting, in two parallel rows which last for some time and attract plentiful insect pollinators. Its fast
growing and drought resistant, but it does not tolerate its roots being disturbed by efforts to transplant
it, even when small.

Heliotropium calcareum
With light grey foliage, this bush usually grows into a neat rounded pincushion shape. The flower
stalks are long and regularly spaced, giving the plant a starburst appearance. As its name suggests, it
does well in calcareous sand.

Port Royal Sienna (Senna italic)

The compound leaves with large leaflets give this shrub an attractive appearance, enhanced by the
yellow flowers and the distinctive flattened black seed pods which are retained on the plant for some
time. It does not like its roots disturbed and can only be transplanted from damp sandy soil when small.
It does well with regular water, and attracts carpenter bees as pollinators. It never grows more than a
metre.

Alexandrian Senna, Egyptian Senna, Tinnevelly Senna, East Indian Senna (Senna alexandrina)
Similar to Senna italica, which from it is distinguished by the less incurved pods and the pointed leaves,
it exhibits a bright display of yellow flowers. It can grow more than one metre and like compacted sand.

Dhafra (Tephrosia appollinea) (Pictured below)

A very attractive blue-grey bush with a beautiful magenta flower that resembles a European sweet pea.
Happy in a wide range of soil, from gravel and stone to sand and roadsides, it flourishes with some
watering and seeds prolifically.

Convolvulus virgatus (Below)

A sparse little forb with showy, cup-shaped, white flowers that open at night and close around midmorning. It may climb into shrubs and lower branches of trees like the ghaf.

Boerhavia elegans (pictured below)

This interesting little plant is insignificant unless in flower, when it pushes up large, profusely branched
flower stalks with bright pink/red stems. The terminal flowers are tiny, but the overall appearance is
very striking, as it looks like a ball of bright pink lace surrounding the plant. It dwells happily in rocky
slopes and stone rubble, disturbed areas and road verges. Its tough and drought resistant, but almost
impossible to get out of its home in the desert.

Ochradenus aucheri and Ochradenus arabicus

An attractive mid-green bush with long, slender, fleshy stalks, linear flower stalks and tiny yellow
flowers. The overall impression is of a more or less rounded shrub covered with pale yellow spikes. This
is a tough plant that can grow with very little water if necessary.

Aloe (Aloe vera)

This well-known succulent is at its best when grown in dense groups amongst large boulders. They
sucker freely and bear attractive yellow and orange flowers. Their shape makes an attractive contrast
with leafy or shrubby plants and grasses.

Special purpose plants

Ground covers are not common among indigenous plants, but the following can be planted to cover
bare areas:

Tribulus arabicus (Tribulus) is a perennial, with creamy yellow buttercup flowers and fine, lacy greyish
compound leaves.

Sesuvium sp. grow very well and covers easily, but do make sure that you use the indigenous version,
not an imported Sesuvium portulacastrum, which needs large quantities of water and can be quite
invasive.
Sesuvium verrucosum

Citrullus colocynthis, the desert squash, gives a sparse cover and grows especially in sand, with an
interesting leaf and prominent round yellow fruits. It helps to colonise and stabilise shifting sand dunes.

Grasses & sedges

Grasses and sedges can be used to great effect to produce large areas of contrasting textures, especially
when in seed. Different species can grow happily in adjacent beds and in among bigger plants, providing
attractive variations and contrasts.

Cyperus conglomeratus is a drought-resistant sedge which is at home on the red dunes and seeds itself
naturally. It appears capable of growing entirely without water and has a remarkable starburst
appearance, especially when in seed. Birds are attracted to the seed in large numbers.

Stipagrostis sp. plumose is a particularly attractive rounded tuft grass with spectacular silvery silky seed
heads.

Feather Finger Grass (Chloris virgata) is a very attractive perennial clumping grass which can spread into
a large mass, but needs liberal watering. It will grow prolifically wherever there is damp.

Landscaping
When youre planning a landscape, please bear in mind that many of the indigenous flowers, although
beautiful when viewed from close, are not striking in terms of size or vivid colour, and can often be
sparse on the plant. You will get better results by focusing on a scheme that uses foliage to emphasize
contrasting colours and textures. There are lots of species to choose from. Some good foliage choices
would be:

Caper plant (Capparis cartilaginea)

Callous-Leaved Gromwell (Moltkiopsis ciliate)

Leucas inflatae

Lindenbergia indica

Sorrel, Bladderdock (Rumex vesicarius) grows originally in wadis of the Hajar after rains. From the same
family of sorrels, its leaves are comestible.

Prophet flower (Arnebia hispidissima)

Iphiona scabra
Filago desertorum
Poppy-Leaved reichardia( Reichardia tingitana)

Sea Blite (Suaeda vermiculata)

Bassia muricata
Cometes surattensis
Salvia macilenta
Teucrium stocksianum
Frankenia pulverulenta
Astralagus fasciculifolius
Argyrolobium roseum
Forsskaolea tenacissima (Velcro plant)
Hyoscyamus muticus (Henbane)
Reseda aucheri
Gaillonia aucheri
Pteropyrium scoparium

More examples of native flora that can be used in UAE instead of exotic species are found in the
following references:

Insall, D. (2006), Landscaping with Omani Wild Trees. Environment Society of Oman, Muscat, Oman

Khan, M.R. (1999), The Indigenous Trees of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai Municipality, UAE.

Winbow, C. ( 2008), The Native Plants of Oman: An Introduction. Environment Society of Oman,
Muscat, Oman.