Wadi Dessah
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.
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.
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
