Plant diversity in Saudi Arabia Wadi Dessah- (Jabal Qaraqir) |
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Wadi Dessah is located about 90 km sw of Tabuk town. It is a narrow wadi of significant importance due to its beauty and diverse biodiversity. The wadi is long with sand covered wadi beds and protected on both sides by red and yellow sand stone pinnacles and hillocks of various altitudes. A narrow stream flows along the wadi bed for throughout the year, which often flows just beneath the sand surface. Banks of wadi beds and pinnacle slopes are supported by several plants of floristic and ecological importance, such as Retama raetam, Nerium oleander, Convolvulus hystrix, Hyphaene thebaica; endemic plants such as Douepea arabica, Nepeta sheilae, Reseda pentagyna, Verbascum deserticola and endangered plants like Globularia arabica, Epipactis veratrifolia, Delphinium sheilae, Hypericum sinaicum, Satureja thymbrifolia, Phlomis brachyodon. The most dominant tree species, Acacia gerrardii dominate in most of the dry wadi beds, while gullies dominate small trees such as Ficus spp., Pistacia falcata and shrubs and shrublets like Convolvulus hystrix, Astragalus echinus, Ochradenus baccatus, Lycium shawii, etc. Wet wadi beds are dominated by common reeds, Phragmites australis and Typha domingensis, large tussocks of Saccharus ravannae and Imperata cylindrica, etc. Wadi Dessah now holds not less than 158 species belonging to 50 families. The area is also home to a relatively large population of Nubian Ibex and other wild animals such as wolves, hyaena, fox, wid cats and a number of birds. |
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Hyphaene thebaica |
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Aizoaceae Aizoon canariense L.
Alliaceae Allium dictyoprasum C.A.Mey. ex Kunth
Amaranthaceae Aerva javanica (Burm.f.) Juss. ex Schult. Haloxylon salicornicum (Moq.) Boiss. Salsola tetrandra Forssk.
Anacardiaceae Pistacia cf. khinjuk Stocks Pistacia falcata Becc. ex Martelli
Apocynaceae Nerium oleander L. Gomphocarpus sinaicus Boiss.
Asparagaceae Asparagus aphyllus L.
Asphodelaceae Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.
Boraginaceae Echium rauwolfii Delile Heliotropium ramosissimum (Lehm.) Sieber ex A.DC. Lappula spinocarpa (Forssk.) Asch. ex Kuntze Paracaryum intermedium (Fresen.) Hiliger & Podlech
Capparaceae Capparis cartilaginea Decne. Capparis spinosa L. Maerua crassifolia Forssk.
Caryophyllaceae Dianthus strictus Banks & Sol. Gymnocarpos decandrus Forssk. Polycarpaea robbairea (Kuntze) Greuter & Burdet Silene sp. aff. grisea Boiss.
Chenopodiaceae Chenopodium murale L.
Cistaceae Helianthemum lippii (L.) Dum.Cours.
Compositae Anvillea garcinii (Burm.f.) DC. Artemisia sieberi Besser Asteriscus graveolens (Forssk.) Less. Atractylis carduus (Forssk.) C.Chr. Centaurea eryngioides Lam. Centaurea pseudosinaica Czerep. Centaurea sinaica DC. Chiliadenus montanus (Vahl) Brullo Echinops glaberrimus DC. Echinops hystrichoides Kit Tan Iphiona mucronata (Forssk.) Asch. & Schweinf. Launaea massuensis (Fresen.) Sch.-Bip. ex Kunth. Launaea spinosa (Forssk.) Sch.Bip. Leysera leyseroides (Desf.) Maire Pulicaria undulata (L.) C.A. May Senecio glaucus L. Tanacetum sinaicum (Fresen.) Delile ex K.Bremer & Humphries Zoegea purpurea Fresen.
Convolvulaceae Convolvulus hystrix Vahl
Crassulaceae Umbilicus horizontalis (Guss.) DC.
Cruciferae Aethionema carneum (Banks & Sol.) B.Fedtsch. Anastatica hierochuntica L. Biscutella didyma L. Diplotaxis harra (Forssk.) Boiss. Douepea arabica (Hedge & Kit Tan) O.Appel & Al-Shehbaz Eremobium aegyptiacum (Spreng.) Asch. & Schweinf. ex Boiss. Farsetia aegyptia Turra Isatis lusitanica L. Matthiola arabica Boiss. Matthiola longipetala (Vent.) DC. Morettia canescens Boiss. Schimpera arabica Hochst. & Steud. Sisymbrium erysimoides Desf. Zilla spinosa (L.) Prantl
Cucurbitaceae Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. Cucumis prophetarum L. var. dissectus (Naudin) C.Jeffrey
Cupressaceae Juniperus phoenicea L.
Cyperaceae Isolepis setacea (L.) R. Br. Scirpoides holoschoenus (L.) Sojak
Dipsacaceae Pterocephalus brevis Coult.
Ephedraceae Ephedra aphylla Forssk. Ephedra pachyclada Boiss. subsp. sinaica (H.Riedl) Freitag & Maier-Stolte
Euphorbiaceae Chrozophora oblongifolia (Delile) A.Juss. ex Spreng.
Geraniaceae Erodium hirtum (L.) Willd. Erodium malacoides (L.) L’He´r. Erodium neuradifolium Delile ex Godr. Erodium oxyrhynchum M.Bieb.
Globulariaceae Globularia arabica Jaub. & Spach
Gramineae Brachypodium distachyon (L.) P. Beauv. Bromus fasciculatus C.Presl Cenchrus pennisetiformis Hochst. & Steud. Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng. Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf Imperata cylindrica (L.) Raeusch. Panicum turgidum Forssk. Pennisetum divisum (J.F.Gmel.) Henrard Pennisetum setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov. Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. Piptatherum holciforme (M.Bieb.) Roem. & Schult. Polypogon viridis (Gouan) Breistr. Saccharum ravennae (L.) Murr. Stipa capensis Thunb. Stipagrostis ciliata (Desf.) De Winter Stipagrostis foexiana (Maire & Wilczek) De Winter Stipagrostis obtusa (Delile) Nees1 Stipagrostis plumosa (L.) Munro ex T.Anderson Tricholaena teneriffae (L.f.) Link
Haloragaceae Myriophyllum spicatum L.
Hyacinthaceae Dipcadi erythraeum (Stocks.) Bak.
Hypericaceae Hypericum sinaicum Hochst. ex Boiss.
Iridaceae Moraea sisyrinchium (L.) Ker Gawl.
Juncaceae Juncus rigidus Desf.
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Labiatae Ballota undulata (Sieber ex Fresen.) Benth. Lavandula coronopifolia Poir. Lavandula pubescens Decne. Mentha longifolia (L.) L. Micromeria imbricata (Forssk.) C.Chr. Nepeta sheilae Hedge & R.A.King Otostegia fruticosa (Forssk.) Schweinf. ex Penzig Phlomis brachyodon (Boiss.) Zohary ex Rech.f. Salvia aegyptiaca Pers. Salvia palaestina Benth. Satureja thymbrifolia Hedge & Feinbrun Stachys aegyptiaca Pers. Teucrium leucocladum Boiss. Teucrium popovii R.A.King
Leguminosae Acacia gerrardii Benth. var. najdensis Chaudhary Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne subsp. raddiana (Savi) Brenan Astracantha echinus (DC.) Podlech subsp. arabica Hedge & Podlech Astragalus spinosus (Forssk.) Muschl. Crotalaria aegyptiaca Benth. Crotalaria persica (Burm.f.) Merr. Hippocrepis constricta Kunze Lotononis platycarpa (Viv.) Pic.Serm. Retama raetam (Forssk.) Webb & Berthel. Senna italica Mill. Trigonella stellata Forssk.
Loranthaceae Plicosepalus acaciae (Zucc.) Wiens & Polhill1
Malvaceae Abutilon ramosum Guill. & Perr. Alcea striata (DC.) Alef.
Moraceae Ficus cordata Thunb. subsp. salicifolia (Vahl) C.C.Berg1 Ficus palmata Forssk. subsp. virgata (Roxb.) Browicz1
Ophioglossaceae Ophioglossum polyphyllum A.Braun
Orchidaceae Epipactis veratrifolia Boiss. & Hohen.
Orobanchaceae Cistanche phelypaea (L.) Cout.
Palmae Hyphaene thebaica (L.) Mart. Phoenix dactylifera L.
Plantaginaceae Plantago afra L.
Polygalaceae Polygala schwartziana Paiva
Polygonaceae Rumex nervosus Vahl Rumex pictus Forssk. Rumex vesicarius L.
Pteridophytes Adiantum capillus-veneris
Ranunculaceae Delphinium sheilae Kit Tan
Resedaceae Caylusea hexagyna (Forssk.) M.L.Green Ochradenus baccatus Delile Reseda aucheri Boiss. var. bracteata (Boiss.) Abdallah & De Reseda pentagyna Abdallah & A.G.Mill.
Rhamnaceae Sageretia thea (Osbeck) M.C.Johnst.
Rubiaceae Crucianella ciliata Lam. Crucianella membranacea Boiss. Pterogaillonia calycoptera (Decne.) Lincz.
Rutaceae Haplophyllum tuberculatum (Forssk.) A.Juss.
Scrophulariaceae Anarrhinum forskallii (J.F.Gmel.) Cufod. Kickxia acerbiana (Boiss.) Ta¨ckh. & Boulos Lindenbergia indica (L.) Kuntze Verbascum deserticola (Murb.) Hub.-Mor. Verbascum sheilae Kit Tan Verbascum sinaiticum Benth. Verbascum sp.
Solanaceae Hyoscyamus pusillus L. Hyoscyamus sp. aff. aureus L. Lycium shawii Roem. & Schult. Solanum cordatum Forssk.
Tamaricaceae Tamarix aphylla (L.) H.Karst. Tamarix nilotica (Ehrenb.) Bunge
Typhaceae Typha domingensis Pers.
Umbelliferae Anisosciadium lanatum Boiss. Chaetosciadium trichospermum (L.) Boiss. Ferula ovina Boiss. Ferula rutbaensis C.C.Towns. Ferula sinaica Boiss. Pycnocycla tomentosa Decne Scandix stellata Banks & Sol.
Urticaceae Forsskaolea tenacissima L. Parietaria alsinifolia Delile
Valerianaceae Valerianella oxyrhyncha Fisch. & Mey.
Zygophyllaceae Fagonia indica Burm.f. Fagonia mollis Delile Fagonia ovalifolia Hadidi Peganum harmala L. Tetraena simplex
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Site created and maintained by Dr. Jacob Thomas, Dept. of Botany & Microbiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. |